The decision to move the London destination of flights from Dundee to Heathrow has been met with a mixed reaction.
We reported on Monday that Loganair flights from Dundee would switch from London City Airport to Heathrow.
The airline has recently gained additional access to slots at Heathrow and will move its Dundee service from London City Airport.
It is also making changes to its flights from Orkney and Shetland, and from the City of Derry.
However, the decision to move away from London City Airport for its Dundee flights was not universally welcomed.
Why Dundee businessman ‘never’ flies from Heathrow
The Apprentice star Mike Soutar said he wouldn’t use Loganair for future trips to Dundee.
Mr Soutar said London City is close to his home.
“I never fly from Heathrow if I have a choice. It is the furthest London airport from me and can take the best part of two hours to get to.
“Sadly I won’t be using Loganair again when I come to Dundee.”
However he did stress that others will have welcomed Loganair’s decision.
“For all the people like me for whom Heathrow is a bad location there will be others for whom it will make travelling to Dundee directly more easy,” he said.
Heathrow move ‘disappointing’
Meanwhile, Dundee property developer Eddie Wighton, who runs InverTay Homes, was among those disappointed by the news.
He said: “It is disappointing. I’m quite a frequent user of the flight and that is based on convenience.
“When you live in a very busy world as I do, convenience is everything.
“The current route to London City means it’s very easy to get into the centre of London, whereas that won’t be the case with Heathrow.”
Mr Wighton said business connections have used the London City route in the past because it avoided Heathrow.
However, the Dundee-based entrepreneur said he understood the logic behind the decision from Loganair, which will connect Dundee to 97 destinations in 45 countries.
He added: “I’m probably being a bit selfish because I can understand why a Heathrow link would be potentially a good thing for the airline.”
“It would’ve been nice if they’d run the two routes.”
He said the move to Heathrow could be detrimental to Dundee. The businessman added he would reserve judgement until he had tried the new route.
“I would try it before I make any decision. Typically I would avoid going to Heathrow and if I was travelling abroad, we’ve got excellent links all over the world from Edinburgh and Glasgow airports anyway.”
Readers react to new Heathrow flights
Courier and Evening Telegraph readers shared their views on social media.
There was a mixed response to the news, with some readers delighted at the prospect of direct flights to and from Heathrow.
One said: “25 years working in aviation and hoping and nudging for this to happen! Very exciting and no more 1.5 hours to Edinburgh to start the journey. Be seeing you more often Bonnie Dundee”.
Others reserved judgement on the new route and were more interested in the price of a ticket.
However, some people were not keen on the change.
One woman said she was “gutted” at the change.
She added: “I moved to Dundee four years ago and loved that I can get back to London City quickly to see friends in the city of London and family in Hertfordshire.
“Going to Heathrow adds so much time to my journey & 26 stops on the underground”.
Another comment read: “I’ll be finding a different way to get there if they stop the London City flights”.
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