axed

A VITAL ferry route linking the UK to France will soon be axed after more than 40 years.

The last crossing is set to take place this autumn, with the company citing rising costs as cause for the closure.

Brittany Ferries is set to permanently axe its Poole to Cherbourg crossing route at the beginning of November.

Passengers have been travelling between Dorset and France for over forty years, but now the popular journey will shut down.

The company cited growing financial pressures as the cause for the decision, including outstanding Covid-19 loan repayments, competition on the Eastern Channel and weaker demand for travel.

Rising costs of the European Union’s Emissions Trading System have further burdened the company’s remaining debt.

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Around 20 jobs are expected to disappear as a result of the closure.

The decision comes as part of a wider restructuring by Brittany Ferries, with the firm taking a “pragmatic approach” to the economic challenges.

Steps also include the sale of the Cotentin, which sails between Cherbourg and Rosslare, alongside the closure of the Portsmouth to Le Havre route from October 2026.

A spokesperson for Brittany Ferries told The Sun: “This wasn’t a decision we took lightly, and we know it will be disappointing news for our customers in Poole and the surrounding area.

“We’ve worked hard over many years to keep this route running, but a long-term decline in passenger and freight numbers, compounded by rising costs and red tape, including Brexit-related border processes, EU environmental taxes, and unfavourable exchange rates, has made the route commercially unsustainable.

“We’re not withdrawing from Poole. Customers will still be able to travel to France with us via a seasonal service from Poole to St Malo, as well as our conventional routes from Portsmouth and Plymouth to Caen, Cherbourg, St Malo and Roscoff, including a new daily Portsmouth–Cherbourg service.”

A high-speed crossing between Poole, Guernsey and St Malo is also set to be debuted in 2027.

The crossing was first introduced in 1985, with the iconic MS Barfleur starting her voyages between Dorset and France in 1992.

It takes just four hours and 15 minutes – the shortest journey over the Channel – and garnered a huge amount of success, leading to a £6million overhaul of the ferry terminal in the 1990s.

The route has faced a number of challenges in recent years, temporarily shutting down in 2010 owing to a decrease in ticket sales – however it was reopened in 2013.

The Barfleur will soon undertake its final journey, but all may not be lost quite yet for the route.

Captain Brian Murphy, chief executive of Poole Harbour Commissioners told the Bournemouth Echo that Brittany Ferries’ departure could pave the way for another operator to take over the route.

FROM major hubs like London Heathrow and Gatwick to regional airports – a number of airlines have scrapped been forced to scrap lots of routes in recent months.

Here are all the routes that have been axed this year by airlines like Ryanair, Vueling and Virgin Atlantic.

London Heathrow

Earlier this year, Virgin Atlantic scrapped its flights to Riyadh entirely after just a year.

The airline also suspended flights from London Heathrow to Dubai due to the ongoing Iran War until winter 2027.

Flights to Seattle have been paused until March 27, 2027.

A Virgin spokesperson said: “Unfortunately, we have taken the difficult decision to temporarily suspend our seasonal service to Dubai for the winter 2026 season, while services to Seattle will also be temporarily suspended for the winter 2026 season only, before resuming in March 2027.

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“Customers can continue to travel to Seattle with our partner Delta Air Lines who will offer daily services from London Heathrow.“

“We’d like to apologise to any affected customers and will be contacting them with their options which include rebooking or a refund.”

Also no longer serving London Heathrow is Loganair which axed three routes this year.

The airline had flown to Dundee, Orkney and Shetland.

A Loganair spokesperson said: “Following a review of the route’s long-term viability, Loganair can confirm that its Dundee–London Heathrow service will cease after Friday 23 October, and the operating base will close.

“Earlier this year, we served notice to the stakeholder group behind the Public Service Obligation route after the contract became financially unsustainable.”

London Gatwick

Norse cancelled its route between London Gatwick and Los Angeles due to the rise in fuel prices in April.

The airline cited the “global fuel crisis” as the main reason.

Norse only introduced the route between the UK and American city back in June 2023.

At that time it operated seven flights per week.

Bournemouth Airport

Jet2 pulled five scheduled routes from Bournemouth Airport before they even launched earlier this year.

The airline began flying from the airport in February 2025 with two aircraft.

Plans even included adding a third aircraft along with more destinations in 2026.

But the company said in July 2025 that following a review, it had “taken the decision to withdraw services to Malaga, Dubrovnik, Jersey, Reus and Verona for summer ’26”.

Leeds Bradford

easyJet is cancelling all flights from Leeds Bradford from January 5, 2027.

Current routes from Leeds Bradford Airport include Barcelona, Majorca, Malaga and Paris, as well as Geneva and Belfast.

Last week, the airline said in a statement: “Following a review of our routes from Leeds Bradford Airport, we have made the decision to no longer operate flights from the airport after 5 January.”

It added: “We value the relationship we have built with Leeds Bradford Airport and we always keep options for our network under review, with the aim of providing more choice and connectivity where we see demand.”

Cardiff Airport

Vueling has withdrawn its flights to Alicante from its winter 2026–27 schedule just four months after first placing flights on sale.

The airline had scheduled a three-weekly service to Alicante over the Christmas and New Year period.

The last flight of the year from Cardiff Airport to Alicante is on October 24.

Neither the airline nor Cardiff Airport has confirmed if the flights will be returning for the summer season.

Manchester Airport

In March 2026, Aer Lingus announced it would be stopping all of its long-haul routes from Manchester Airport.

The airline had provided routes from Manchester to New York, Orlando and Barbados.

In January of this year, the airline said it was “undergoing a period of uncertainty on transatlantic services” at its Manchester base.

It continued: “To minimise customer disruption in the event of a closure of the Manchester base, which operates transatlantic flights from Manchester to New York, Orlando and Barbados, Aer Lingus is no longer selling transatlantic flights to/from Manchester for travel from 31 March 2026.”

IndiGo axed its two routes between Manchester and India on August 31.

It only started the routes to Mumbai and Delhi back in July 2025 – one-way flights between Manchester and Mumbai started from £290.

Southampton Airport

Loganair will close its base at Southampton Airport at the end of October.

The closure means that flights between Southampton and Manchester and Manchester and Exeter have been cancelled. The final flights were on August 20, 2026.

London Stansted

Ryanair has been forced to make several major changes in 2026 – one of which will affect London Stansted.

The airline announced it would be closing its Berlin base in October which is set to impact routes from Stansted as part of the winter 2026/27 schedule.

The details on which services and reductions hasn’t been specified yet.

A UK airport has temporarily shut down as workers walk out amid strike action.

Passengers have been advised to check with airlines before making their way to the airport.

Flights to and from Norwich Airport have been cancelled today amid strike action.

The five hour closure will take place between 8am and 1pm today while air traffic control industrial action takes place.

An announcement on the Norwich Airport website read: “Due to ongoing industrial action, short of a strike, involving Prospect union members in Air Traffic Control, Norwich Airport will be closed to air traffic between 08:00 and 13:00 on Friday 21 August.”

The airport said that all airlines have been made aware of the closures.

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Passengers have been advised to check with their airlines for updates about any flights today before heading to the airport.

Air Traffic Control members of Prospect Union voted in favour of industrial action from August 17 in relation to pay and conditions.

Those involved are working strictly within contracted hours, and are refusing to work overtime, work on a goodwill basis or swap shifts.

The industrial action centres around pay disputes, with the union demanding a 10 per cent pay increase for workers, bringing them up to the UK market rate.

Union members are also calling for better maternity and paternity leave as part of the industrial action.

Loganair flights to and from Aberdeen have been cancelled amid the closure, as well as KLM flights to and from Amsterdam.

A number of flights are still scheduled for this afternoon, including TUI flights to Palma and Ryanair flights to Alicante.

A spokesperson for Norwich Airport said: “We apologise to passengers for the inconvenience this may cause.

“Discussions with Prospect are continuing and we remain committed to resolving the dispute through constructive dialogue.”