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Regional Development

Easyjet cancels new Manchester to Scotland routes after travel ban

The new routes had only been announced recently

The easyJet routes were from Manchester to Edinburgh and Aberdeen(Image: Adam Gerrard / Daily Mirror)

Budget flight operator easyJet will not go ahead with new routes connecting Manchester to Edinburgh and Aberdeen following a recent travel ban introduced by the Scottish Government.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham was due to speak with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Wednesday amid dispute over the ban, brought in over concerns about coronavirus cases in Manchester and Salford.

Mr Burnham said on Tuesday that he would be seeking a "political route" to end the dispute, but the consequences of the fallout remain evident with easyJet withdrawing its services.

The Manchester-Edinburgh route was due to take just 65 minutes and replace a service lost when Flybe ceased operations in March 2020, the PA News agency reports.

The new routes had only been announced at the end of last week.

An easyJet spokesman said: "Following the Scottish Government's announcement that non-essential travel between Scotland and Manchester is currently not permitted, unfortunately we are no longer able to operate our planned new routes connecting Edinburgh and Aberdeen with Manchester.

"Customers due to travel on these flights will be notified of the cancellation and informed of their options, which includes transferring their trip to an alternative destination on easyJet's network or to a later date free of charge, or receiving either a voucher or refund for the entire value of their booking.

"We would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused by the latest news and cancellations."