Loganair is to base two aircraft at Southampton Airport, from where it will introduce daily flights to Manchester from October.
The Scottish airline will also launch a new service from Manchester to Exeter, again starting in October.
Loganair will have two ATR-72s based at Southampton from the winter, which will also allow it to increase capacity on its existing route from the south coast airport to Edinburgh, from 49 to 72 passengers per flight.
The Southampton to Manchester route is timed to meet connections to Inverness, Aberdeen and Isle of Man, and Loganair said it ‘enhances onward connectivity’ with Emirates, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Aer Lingus.
The route was previously operated until 2020 by the now defunct regional airline, Flybe.
Kam Jandu, Chief Executive of Southampton Airport’s parent AGS Airports, said: “Manchester is the most sought-after route by businesses across the region and was previously used by more than 200,000 passengers per year.
“The re-introduction of this route will further strengthen the economic ties between the two cities and Loganair’s extensive airline interline agreements will open even more global connection opportunities for our passengers, making the world even more accessible from their local airport.”
