Direct daily city flights to Norway

Apr 14 2008 by Peter McCusker, The Journal

A NEW daily direct flight between Newcastle and Stavanger in Norway will be announced today as predicted in nebusiness earlier this month.

Eastern Airways, which currently flies passengers between the two airports via Aberdeen, believes the service – starting on May 12, will help encourage trade between the region and Norway.

Chris Holliday, Eastern Airways’ chief operating officer said: “This is a major milestone in the development of our Newcastle services.

“After initially establishing a connecting service via Aberdeen, which showed there was demand for daily services between North East England and Stavanger, business travellers will now be able to make significant time savings with our new, convenient non-stop flights from Newcastle.”

Newcastle International Airport’s chief executive, Dave Laws, said: “We know this direct flight will prove very popular and help further expand business links between the North East and Norway.

“Eastern Airways makes an important contribution to the development of the region through offering frequent flights to key destinations and we are delighted this new service will make it easier to travel between the North East and Stavanger.”

Stacy Hall, director of communications and tourism at One NorthEast, said: “Norway is one of our closest export markets and the new Stavanger route will further develop our long standing Norwegian trade links.”

The move will cut journey times in half to around an hour and will be a welcome boost to the North East’s oil and gas supply sector, which is enjoying a surge in demand from Norwegian clients.

Flights will depart from Newcastle at 9.50am, arriving in Stavanger at 12.40pm local time. Flights leave Stavanger at 1.10pm, landing in Newcastle at 2pm local time.

The direct flights will appeal to North East businesses with Norwegian links, particularly those in the oil and gas industry. Many major energy companies are located in Stavanger as Norway is one of the world’s largest oil producers.

The North East is also recognised as a world leader in subsea oil exploration, which has further enhanced its energy links with Norway.