Tickets go on sale today for a new direct flight route between London and the Lake District, when Carlisle Lake District Airport opens to commercial passenger flights for the first time since 1993.
Don't go packing your walking boots just yet though — the flights operate from London Southend Airport, which we reckon is a fairly wide definition of London. That said, the airport was named London's best airport in 2017.
The flights, which begin in June, are operated by Scottish airline Loganair. As well as serving Southend, direct flights will operate between CLDA and Dublin, and CLDA and Belfast City.
Since 1993, the airport has been used only for sightseeing and private chartered flights. It's located about 40 miles north of Keswick, one of the Lake District's biggest tourism spots.
Gill Haigh, managing director of Cumbria Tourism, said:
The new flights from Carlisle Lake District Airport will be a major boost for Cumbria’s connectivity and our £2.72billion tourism industry.
We welcomed 45 million visitors to the county last year, but a large proportion were day trippers to the Lakes. Our marketing strategy has a key focus on encouraging visitors to stay in the county as a whole.
Flights between London Southend and CLDA start at £44.99 one way, with a flight time of approximately one hour and 20 minutes. Register here to be kept up to date. Tickets will be available from the Loganair website.
