Scotland left with no US flights until autumn

United Airlines reverses decision to re-start Edinburgh-New York link.

The Edinburgh-New York Newark route is served by Boeing 757 aircraft. Picture: Wayne Sleak.

All transatlantic flights from Scotland have been halted until at least October after plans to resume a route to the Big Apple were postponed.

United had planned to reinstate flights between Edinburgh and New York Newark from 1 July.

However, it has now announced the daily service using a Boeing 757-200 will not now re-start until 24 October – nearly six months away.

American Airlines has cancelled Philadelphia flights from Edinburgh this summer. Picture: Ian Georgeson.

The move will come as another blow to Scotland’s previously busiest airport, which has been the country’s heaviest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on aviation.

Passengers have plummeted from some 250,000 a week to as few as 200 – or just a few dozen a day.

Most are thought to be people returning to their home countries.

United has already cancelled its daily summer flights between the capital and both Chicago and Washington DC.

It has also scrapped daily summer flights between Glasgow and New York.

American Airlines has said it would not operate its Edinburgh-Philadelphia service this summer.

‘Fluid situation’

Other airlines suspending transatlantic flights from Scotland include Air Canada, which will not fly between Toronto and Edinburgh and Glasgow over the summer.

A spokesperson for United said: “We continue to adjust our schedule to address the significant decrease in demand resulting from the Covid-19 crisis.

“Our May schedule is down 90 per cent and this weekend’s schedule change includes the removal of 13 international long-haul markets for the full summer season, and the suspension of seasonal services to Naples, Venice, Porto, Lisbon, Edinburgh, Barcelona, Madrid, and Santiago de Chile.”

Edinburgh Airport said its flights schedule was subject to continuing change.

A spokesman said: “We’re currently in a very fluid and complex situation which will become clearer as we understand better the exit to lockdown in the UK and in other countries that we serve.”

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