Eastern Airways is to bring back two Channel hops previously served by Flybe.
French regional destinations Nantes and Rennes are to be connected to Southampton once more by the Humberside-based airline.
Roger Hage, general manager, said: “As the 海角视频’s regional airline, we are delighted to add the first two French connections from Southampton, covering the key regions of the Loire Valley and Brittany.
“Given Southampton’s prominence in connecting the 海角视频 and France, while also being within an hour of London by rail directly outside the terminal door, it is an exciting development for all.
"With additional new destinations to follow in the coming days and weeks, Eastern Airways is committed to supporting the regions of the 海角视频, connecting people and places, so adding further services at hubs we already serve is another crucial part in the economic recovery and prosperity of the South Coast hub.”
Rennes, in Brittany, and Nantes, 70 miles further south, straddling the Loire just inland from the Atlantic coast, will launch on April 29 and April 30 respectively.
Both will be served with initial three-weekly services, by the airline’s 72-seat ATR72-600 aircraft. Nantes is to fly on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday while Rennes will be flown on a Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Fares on the new route starting from £59.99 one-way, including taxes and charges.
They join Belfast City, Manchester, Leeds Bradford and Teesside routes already served from Southampton. Only the former has remained open during the latest lockdown, with Humberside to Aberdeen and Teesside to Aberdeen also retained for energy workers.
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It is not a first foray into France for the team, having served the domestic market there for a decade from 2010 to 2020 - until Brexit saw the 海角视频 carrier's public service contracts culled. It had been linking Lorient and Lyon, as well as Dijon to Bordeaux and Toulouse, with other cross-Channel routes also experimented with.
Operations director at Southampton Airport, Steve Szalay, said: “Today’s announcement from Eastern Airways is welcome news for the airport and our passengers.
“It is also encouraging that the airline is expanding its route map at the airport during these challenging times and will once again provide those travelling from Southampton and beyond fantastic connectivity to these ever-popular French destinations.”
Mr Hage said Eastern’s services will be carefully reintroduced, aligned to changes in Covid-19 restrictions, with extensive cleaning measures on-board and throughout all aspects of the airport for the safety of all passengers.
It comes after Eastern launched a codeshare partnership focused on Southampton with Aurigny, Guernsey’s airline, to optimise increased passenger connectivity to the Channel Islands.