Posted on February 24, 2009 by Fiona Hilliard

So BMI is to axe services between Heathrow airport and the North of England after 40 years of continuous service.  Yes, the airline announced today that it is ending flights from London to Durham Tees Valley and Leeds Bradford airports from March 28.  What can I say only the recession has laid another domestic route to rest.  It can’t help that the British government has introduced Air Passenger Duty (APD) either.

The move is the latest blow to the tourism industry in the north of England.  Last November, British Airways announced plans to reduce services between Gatwick and Edinburgh and Glasgow and Manchester airports.  What do you do if you’re in the ‘big smoke’ and you’ve got to get up north to a business meeting in a hurry?  Car hire is an obvious option but pity the poor folk who need to catch a connecting flight.  With their links to London now severed, they’ll have to rely on  European airports such as Amsterdam, Brussels and Frankfurt to connect to worldwide destinations.