Esbjerg Airport

Jul 31, 2023

Humberside to Esbjerg route aborted as offshore wind route 'not financially sustainable' Eastern Airways will not resume flights to Danish port after summer break 15:16, 31 JUL 2023 An Eastern Airways ATR72-600 that had been serving the route. (Image: Brad Simpson) Sign up to FREE email alerts from BusinessLive - Yorkshire & Humber - a daily bulletin of the stories you need to see from around the region More Newsletters Subscribe Invalid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later. More Newsletters We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info Thank you for subscribing! Group 28 Sign up to FREE email alerts from BusinessLive - Yorkshire & Humber - a daily bulletin of the stories you need to see from around the region Invalid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later. Sign Up × A route launched between Humberside and Denmark to help support the offshore wind industry has been pulled. Eastern Airways’ service to Esbjerg has lasted little over six months, and is the second attempt at fostering a permanent air connection to have been aborted. First to try and establish the link bridging the North Sea between the countries was Scandinavian Airways back in 2013, flying to Copenhagen. Competition with Ryanair operating between Manchester and Billund - a town home to the original Legoland some 50km away from Esbjerg, with a starting price of £12.99 - has been listed as a major factor, together with increases in ground handling charges at Kirmington. Having been paused for the summer holidays after business bookings dropped off - a move described as not unusual for the service profile - it will now not return. In a statement to customers, Cath Marshall, Eastern Airways’ director of client and partner relations, said: “Whilst it was a challenging time for us to launch a new international route off the back of Covid-19, we felt confident that there was a market between the two regions given the commercial history. “We believe we have worked with all parties to promote our direct service; a good product with convenient timings and competitively priced. The route which commenced in December 2022 had a slow start and hit a few directional peaks this year. However, it is evident that we missed the construction phase traffic from the wind farm projects which would have boosted the numbers significantly and for a set period. “With a lack of regular users, possibly due to the traffic not being there and/or because of airline choice including KLM to more busier and preferred destinations in Denmark or leisure passengers who are tempted by Ryanair fares as low as £12.99 from surrounding airports, our route has not shown the signs of passenger growth that is required to make it financially sustainable.” Bubble bursts: The ribbon cutting ceremony held in December after the inaugural flight touched down, with, from left, Roger Hage, Eastern Airways commercial director; Deborah Zost, Humberside Airport managing director; Mayor of Esbjerg, Jesper Frost Rasmussen and Esbjerg Airport chief executive Susanne Sorensen. (Image: Reach Plc) Danish global leader in wind, Orsted, has seen its run of construction projects off the Humber paused after planning delays hit. With Hornsea One and Hornsea Two operational and managed out of Grimsby, a final investment decision is now awaited on Hornsea Three , with Hornsea Four just gaining consent this past month. Ms Marshall added: “Such decisions are not taken lightly, as it is a tough operating environment, and we never wish to inconvenience our customers who already hold bookings or disappoint those who wish to use the service. “Should there be an opportunity in the future to serve the market again when there is greater volume of traffic, we will gladly review the situation.” Announced last November , it was greeted with some fanfare when it first took off in mid-December, with the inaugural crossing carrying a delegation of offshore wind stakeholders to a welcome reception at the Danish airport . It launched with three return flights a week with the option to switch between 72-seat and 29-seat planes highlighted. Eastern has flown from Humberside, where it is headquartered, since launching 26 years ago, with its Aberdeen service for the energy sector. The airport has seen KLM flights also reduced, with the slots yet to return to the full schedule seen pre-Covid. Roger Hage, commercial director at Eastern, said it was in marked contrast to strong increases in contractes sports and private charter business, as well as partnerships with other carriers - including the recent Air France tie-up . He added: “The route suspension has been determined further at a point where due to falling Humberside Airport activity, ground handling charges have been increased by the airport supplier by up to 45 per cent, making Humberside less competitive for scheduled passenger services." Story Saved You can find this story in   My Bookmarks. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. 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