The way in which flights to London are being run may be to blame for falling passenger numbers at Cornwall Airport Newquay.
That was the opinion of one of Cornwall Council’s most senior officers when asked about a drop in use.
The Public Service Obligation (PSO) route, which is currently operated by Eastern Airways, ensures a year-round connection between Cornwall and London.
The route is subsidised by the government to maintain the service, especially during less profitable periods. The PSO route is a four-year contract, with a review after two years to assess the need for continued support. Cornwall Council runs the airport through its Cornwall Airport Limited (CAL) company.
A meeting of the council’s corporate finance scrutiny committee heard on Tuesday (July 15) that passenger volume was below target in two financial periods in 2024/25, the most up-to-date data available for the council’s Corserv group of companies.
Quarter 2 had 2,686 fewer passengers than the target of 274,179, and Quarter 3 had 21,162 fewer passengers than the target of 365,456, “likely due to reduced flight schedules, lower demand and the winter season”.
Cllr Mike Thomas (Independent, Helston North) asked what was being done to address the issues at the Newquay airport, including the “apparent lack of passenger volume”. He added: “People still want to fly, people are still going to Exeter and Bristol. Why are they not going to Newquay?”
Strategic director Phil Mason responded: “Passenger numbers do fluctuate. We’re just in the process of re-letting the PSO and the way in which that route has been operated is, in my opinion, having an impact on those numbers. We will want to address that in letting any new contracts from the end of this year onwards.
“The Passenger Service Obligation route to London comprises a core set of services for the region and the way in which it is run is important as it adds to the reputation of Cornwall.
"But it’s quite easy to get a poor reputation for that service and that impacts on the airport as well. I would say that’s one of the contributory factors.”
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Mr Mason added: “What we will do is scrutinise the tender proposals which come in, particularly focused on the quality of running those services, the amount of rotations and where from and to in terms of London airports. I would say there’s every opportunity as we go forward next year that we will have the airport starting to see the passenger numbers climb.”
He stressed the significant investment in security recently installed at the airport which was needed to meet the requirements of the Civil Aviation Authority. “We’re investing in those things which are absolutely necessary to keep the airport running as an airport.”
READ MORE: Major upgrade to security at Newquay Airport means big change on liquid rules
Mr Mason said there would be a report going to Cabinet to encourage capital investment into the airport after the council’s new Lib Dem / Independent Cabined scrapped the last Conservative administration’s Project Corduroy to find an investment partner.
The meeting also heard that profit at one of the council’s other companies, Corserv Care, was well below target. Net profit delivered through commercial services, Lifeline, was at three per cent, well below the 59 per cent target, “due to slower external contract growth and smaller spend per customer”.
Percentage net profit delivered through commercial services, Care and Support (C&S), was at -195 per cent, far below the eight per cent target.
“This is the result of slower private customer growth, higher costs from a dispersed customer base, loss-making Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS) customers and higher staff costs. Efforts to consolidate services are ongoing,” stated the committee report.
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