{"id":79693,"date":"2017-03-14T08:41:56","date_gmt":"2017-03-14T08:41:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=0872d6e0dc5f8a93a41128f3340d4c19"},"modified":"2017-03-14T08:41:56","modified_gmt":"2017-03-14T08:41:56","slug":"news-story-dundee-london-air-route-funding-secured-until-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=79693","title":{"rendered":"News story: Dundee-London air route funding secured until 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"govspeak\">\n<p>The <abbr title=\"United Kingdom\">UK<\/abbr> government has today announced more than \u00a31.8 million to secure a vital air link between Dundee City Airport and London Stansted for another 2 years.<\/p>\n<p>The public service obligation (<abbr title=\"public service obligation\">PSO<\/abbr>), agreed between the <abbr title=\"United Kingdom\">UK<\/abbr> government, Transport Scotland and Dundee City Council, guarantees almost \u00a33.7 million to keep the route open over the 2017\/18 and 2018\/19 financial years.<\/p>\n<p>The <abbr title=\"United Kingdom\">UK<\/abbr> government will contribute 50% of the total funds, with the Scottish government putting in \u00a31.4 million and Dundee City Council funding a further \u00a3400,000.<\/p>\n<p>Loganair will continue to operate the route from 26 March 2017, with the service comprising 2 return flights each weekday and 1 return flight on Sundays.<\/p>\n<p>The Dundee-London link, which launched as the first government <abbr title=\"public service obligation\">PSO<\/abbr> in 2014, plays an important role in promoting Dundee as a business and tourist destination, offering additional travel options to railway and road. Flight times between the 2 airports currently stand at around an hour and a half.<\/p>\n<p>Aviation Minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>I am delighted that Loganair will continue to operate this direct air service between Dundee and London Stansted for another 2 years.<\/p>\n<p>Passengers and businesses will continue to benefit from the connectivity this route provides. It will further boost trade and tourism opportunities will continue to flourish in Scotland.<\/p>\n<p class=\"last-child\">Regional airports are vital to our long-term economic strategy, and we are committed to strengthening links across the whole country and in particular ensuring access to London to further boost growth across the whole of the <abbr title=\"United Kingdom\">UK<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><abbr title=\"United Kingdom\">UK<\/abbr> government Minister for Scotland Lord Andrew Dunlop said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>It\u2019s great news for Dundee that the <abbr title=\"United Kingdom\">UK<\/abbr> government is investing a further \u00a31.8 million over 2 years in the Dundee-London air route, building on our investment of \u00a32.85 million over the past 2 years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"last-child\">Good air connectivity is vital to Dundee\u2019s prosperity and its ambitious regeneration plans. There is a huge amount going on in Dundee, and London air links offer fantastic opportunities for Tayside.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Dundee City Council leader Ken Guild said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>As the city continues its long-term regeneration programme, having a direct air link to London fulfils an important role for business and leisure travellers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"last-child\">Securing the route for a further 2 years through this latest <abbr title=\"public service obligation\">PSO<\/abbr> gives the council and its partners an opportunity to build on the service and attract other routes.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The Scottish government\u2019s Minister for Transport Humza Yousaf said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The award of this contract to Loganair is welcome news which provides continuity of service on this important route.<\/p>\n<p>This flight not only provides a direct link to London, but also offers passengers a wide number of onward connecting destinations from Stansted. This will continue to benefit business and leisure travellers alike.<\/p>\n<p class=\"last-child\">In the wider context, this service is vital for the future of Dundee Airport and we will continue to work with all partners to add new flights to its roster. I wish Loganair every success with this service.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The government maintains regional airport links through the Regional Air Connectivity Fund, which can be used to protect important air connections to London which may otherwise be lost.<\/p>\n<p>Last month, the <abbr title=\"United Kingdom\">UK<\/abbr> government gave its first ever backing for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/uk-government-funds-city-of-derry-air-link\"><abbr title=\"public service obligation\">PSO<\/abbr> in Northern Ireland<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"contact \" id=\"contact_1015\">\n<div class=\"content\">\n<h3>Aviation and maritime media enquiries<\/h3>\n<div class=\"vcard contact-inner\">\n<div class=\"email-url-number\">\n<p class=\"tel\">\n              <span class=\"type\">Press enquiries<\/span><br \/>\n              020 7944 3021\n            <\/p>\n<p class=\"tel\">\n              <span class=\"type\">Out of hours<\/span><br \/>\n              020 7944 4292\n            <\/p>\n<p class=\"tel\">\n              <span class=\"type\">Switchboard<\/span><br \/>\n              0300 330 3000\n            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UK government invests a further \u00a31.8 million over 2 years in the Dundee-London air route.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79693"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=79693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79693\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=79693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=79693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=79693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}