With the recent Ryanair announcement that the tour operator will be running scheduled flights from Stansted to Newquay, the journey times from London to Scilly could be reduced to under two and a half hours.
The Isles of Scilly Steamship Company’s aircraft operation, Skybus, has reacted to the announcement by Ryanair, by Introducing flights to and from Newquay, in order to coincide with connecting Ryanair flights, both leaving and arriving into the region.
This means that the total journey time between the Islands and London Stansted will be approximately two hours and twenty five minutes. Skybus flights leaving Newquay are scheduled to depart 45 minutes after the Ryanair flights arrive. Flights from St. Marys to Newquay are set to land 50 minutes before the Ryanair flight takes off for London.
This is a prime example of how low budget Flights into Cornwall will benefit the tourism industry in the south west. Currently, most visitors travel down by train to either Truro or Penzance in order to catch Skybus flights from Newquay or lands End, a helicopter flight from Penzance or the ‘Scillonian’ ferry from Penzance. The train journey can take up to seven hours from London.
This operation will particularly benefit business passengers as it will greatly reduce travelling times. It is also good news for those who have previously had to endure long car or train journeys into the Southwest. The current plans show that there will be one Ryanair flight per day initially, scheduled for the afternoon. The option has been left open for extra daily flights in the future, depending on the popularity of the London Newquay service.