BA will stop operating the route in October

British Airways (BA) announced on Monday that it would stop its flights between Plymouth, Newquay and Gatwick in October.

Air Wales made a slot application on Tuesday for the right to utilise the available landing and take off rights currently held by BA.

The airline specialises in short haul domestic flights and the company already has a fleet of aircraft based at Plymouth which currently fly to Dublin, Cork and Jersey.

Emergency meeting

The managing director of Air Wales, Adrian Thompson, said he believed that adding Gatwick to the list would compliment their existing services.

The news comes on the day Transport minister and Plymouth MP David Jamieson held an emergency meeting of South West MPs to fight the loss of the flights to London.

Business leaders in Devon said the loss of the air route could lose the region millions of pounds in potential investment.

Some bosses have also claimed it could spell the end of hundreds of jobs in the South West, including 61 BA staff at Plymouth and 10 at Newquay.