Cornwall Council says that it will make an announcement “shortly” about new flights from Newquay to London.

The current air link from Cornwall to the capital was shut down following the collapse of regional airline FlyBe.

The route is protected by a Public Service Obligation (PSO) agreed by the Government which provides a subsidy to keep the air link in place.

At a meeting of Cornwall Council’s Cabinet council leader Julian German announced that an announcement was imminent.

He said: “The council has been working closely with Cornwall Newquay Airport to reinstate the PSO.

“Negotiations are at an advanced stage and we are in a position to make an announcement regarding the PSO soon.”

However he added that there was uncertainty about when the route might start again due to the impact of coronavirus on flights.

FlyBe had been operating the service from Newquay to Heathrow but announced earlier this year that it was planning to switch the service to Gatwick instead.

There was no indication given at Cabinet about whether the new service would operate to Heathrow or Gatwick.