Holiday-makers hoping to travel to Scandinavia this summer will be forced to fly from Manchester after a leading airline cancelled all flights from Liverpool to Copenhagen.
John Lennon Airport (JLA) confirmed the Norwegian Airlines north European route was to be halted in March, at the start of the summer season.
Flights were expected to run twice weekly – on Mondays and Fridays – until the end of October, but bosses said the service “has not performed to their expectations.”
The cancellation could mean up to 10,000 fewer travellers pass through the Liverpool airport this year, as 64 flights carrying more than 150 passengers will now not go ahead.
A spokesman for JLA said: “Norwegian have decided not to continue their twice weekly service to Copenhagen from Liverpool for the forthcoming summer season, as this route has not performed to their expectations.
“However we are continuing to talk to the airline about opportunities to other destinations from Liverpool for the Winter 2014/15 season as they continue to open other bases across Europe.”
John Royle, who visits Scandinavia four times a year to see his daughter, said the change could impact on how regularly he made the trip. He added: “Every time I have been on that route it’s been packed.
“I think it is such a shame. It’s just so inconvenient having to go to Manchester to travel.“We used to go four times a year. We could get to the airport in 20 minutes, but this means we may be forced to go less. I hope somebody comes along and reinstates the service.”
The loss of Norwegian Airlines followed last week’s news that JLA had losses of £7.1m in the 12 months to March 31 last year – worse than the £6.5m loss reported in 2011/12.
KPMG, the airport’s auditors, warned in the airport’s annual report that “material uncertainty” cast doubts on the company’s ability to maintain the site.
A JLA spokesman said the company “remains optimistic over future growth in business and is working closely with a number of existing and new airlines.”
Yesterday the ECHO revealed talks were ongoing with German airline Lufthansa, though no concrete plans were yet in place for it to run services to and from Liverpool.
