Loganair to expand at Heathrow following slot deal with British Airways

Destinations will be revealed ‘in the coming days’ after huge slot deal with flag carrier

A Loganair aircraft in Shetland (Loganair)

Loganair is to expand at London Heathrow, boosting regional connections, after a deal to lease 30 weekly slot-pairs from British Airways.

The regional carrier has yet to reveal which new routes it will operate from the international hub, but says an announcement will follow “in the coming days”.

Dundee and City of Derry, which it currently serves from other London airports, are among  the most likely beneficiaries.

The Scottish airline has renewed its calls to the UK Government to change competition remedies to make slots at Heathrow permanently available for regional connectivity.

It has been flying from Heathrow to the Isle of Man since 2021 using slots freed up during Covid, later securing those slots permanently; however, other slots that became empty when Flybe went into administration were returned to BA under an old agreement dating back to the takeover of BMI more than a decade ago.

By leasing slots from BA – which is in any case struggling to fully operate its summer schedule due to staffing – Loganair can offer access to Heathrow from regional airports and a range of onward global connections.

Loganair chief executive Jonathan Hinkles said: “We’re delighted to be growing our operations at Heathrow. Having taken these important first steps ourselves to provide new connectivity to and from the UK regions under this arrangement, it’s now essential for the UK government to initiate the process needed to reform competition remedies to provide access to Heathrow for the UK regions.”

Changes to Heathrow’s charging regime, which previously made it infeasible to operate smaller aircraft to the London hub, are critical to the viability of Loganair’s plans at the airport, Hinkles said.