Cornwall Airport Newquay (CAN) has today announced that from June 3 regional operator Blue Islands, a franchise partner of Flybe, will start a new service to Jersey and Guernsey.

Flights will operate three times weekly throughout the summer season until 31 August, with the service adding a further 3,600 seats to the CAN market in 2019.

The carrier will operate the route on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, allowing for passengers to enjoy either an extended weekend or full-week break in the Channel Islands.

Flights will depart CAN at 12:10, arriving in Jersey one-hour later, with passengers then having the option to connect through to Guernsey. Flights back to CAN will leave Jersey at 10:40.

The airline will use its ATR 42-320s planes on the route, laid out in a 46-seat configuration.

“It is fantastic news that from this summer the airport will have more flight options for our passengers, adding to our already confirmed new services to Copenhagen, plus London’s Heathrow and Southend Airports,” comments Al Titterington, Managing Director, CAN.

“The Channel Islands are currently hard to reach for passengers in our catchment, with them having to either drive hours to the nearest airport with direct services or having to drive to the UK South Coast and take a ferry, with this being a journey which could take up to eight hours or more. By offering this seamless one-hour flight to Jersey and onwards to Guernsey, we now have a much more sustainable and customer friendly option for people wanting to reach this part of the world, and for those in the Channel Islands wanting to visit our great county.”

Rob Veron, Blue Islands CEO said: “The exciting addition of direct flights between Cornwall Airport Newquay and the Channel Islands means residents of both regions can now appreciate discovering the respective unique cultures and subtle nuances that exist beyond the stunning coastlines, quaint harbours, picturesque countryside, as well as buzzing beach and surf scenes.”

CAN supported over 450,000 passengers in 2018, and it heads into 2019 with historic developments under its belt, including a four times daily hub connection to London Heathrow with Flybe, opening Newquay, Cornwall and the South West UK to the world. The Airport will also see new airline partner SAS begin a twice-weekly service to its hub at Copenhagen, the first time that CAN has had a direct link with Scandinavia. “2019 is shaping up to be a record breaking year for CAN, and with the news that Blue Islands will launch these flights from June continues the growing momentum that we are seeing from passengers wanting to fly directly to and from Cornwall,” enthuses Titterington.