Take-off for Carlisle Airport

The first passenger flight from Carlisle Lake District Airport in 25 years has been completed, with a Loganair flight to Dublin having the honour of being the first service.

In addition to Dublin, Scottish airline Loganair is to serve Belfast City and London Southend, which like Carlisle is owned by Stobart Group, from the Cumbrian airport.

Carlisle Lake District Airport, six miles east of the city, is to initially run five days a week, with no scheduled flights on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. The summer timetable includes one flight a day to and from each of the three destinations over five days, except Saturdays to and from Southend. The airport is also running free minibus transfers to and from the city centre.

A former RAF airfield, the site has not witnessed commercial flights since 1993. Stobart bought the airport site in 2008, and immediately lodged plans for freight development, plus its own offices and a passenger terminal. Initial plans were approved but called in for public inquiry, leading Stobart to scale back its plans.

A £4.75m grant from the Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership was secured to upgrade the runway and facilities in 2017.