Lake District airport to finally reopen this week

After missing two previous planned re-openings, Carlisle airport is now in “tip-top order” for passenger services to begin again on 4 July 2019.

The Scottish airline Loganair will serve Belfast, Dublin and Southend from the Cumbrian airport.

Initially, though, Carlisle Lake District airport will be a five-day a week operation, with no flights on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

But unlike other UK airports, arriving passengers will be offered a free minibus ride to the city centre. The complimentary transfer is also available to departing travellers.

The airport, serving Cumbria and southwest Scotland, began as an RAF airfield. At one time it had scheduled services from Heathrow. But it has had no passenger flights since 1993.

Attempts to re-start commercial operations began soon after the foot-and-mouth crisis of 2001. Eventually Stobart Group became involved and was due to start operations on 3 June 2018.

That deadline was missed because of air-traffic control issues. A subsequent plan to open in the autumn was also shelved. 

Speaking exclusively to The Independent, Kate Willard, director of partnership development for Stobart Group, said: “Last year was heartbreaking for passengers and for the team that had worked so hard to get it over the line.”

But, she said, Thursday’s launch will definitely go ahead: “Everything is in tip-top order.”

Carlisle airport, whose code is CAX, faces intense competition from other airports. Newcastle airport is 46 miles away, while Prestwick is 81 miles distant. A bigger competitor, though, is Manchester: Britain’s third-busiest airport, and a gateway to the Lake District with a direct rail connection to Windermere.

But Ms Willard said: “Thursday is the beautiful punctuation in a lovely story about this airport and what it means to the county.”

The first flight, to Dublin, is to be blessed by the the Archdeacon of Carlisle, Lee Townend.

Stobart Group also owns Southend airport, 275 miles by air, and with rail connections to the City of London. 

The London connection is expected to be of interest to staff working for BAE Systems at Barrow-in-Furness and the Sellafield nuclear site.