Skybus (United Kingdom) (8Y, Land's End) will terminate its services connecting Newquay and London Gatwick on May 31, 2026, after Cornwall Council decided to terminate public service obligation (PSO) support for the route going forward.

"We have grave concerns about the impact of this decision on Cornwall’s essential connectivity, on continued employment in Cornwall’s aviation sector and most specifically for the viability of Cornwall Airport Newquay," the airline's managing director Jonathan Hinkles said.

"The PSO - 50% funded by the UK Department for Transport, funding which will now be lost [due to being unused by Cornwall] - made a huge contribution towards the airport’s finances, where other commercial air routes operate on the basis of significant discounts to its rack-rate fees and charges," he added.

The local airline, which specialises in connecting Isles of Scilly St. Mary's with Land's End and Newquay in Cornwall, took over the London route in November 2025 under an interim allocation following the bankruptcy of Eastern Airways. It planned to secure an ATR72 for the services, but for now relies on a DHC-8-Q400 wet-leased from Universal Air and operating under the 'GR' code of Aurigny Air Services.

Skybus was the only bidder for the permanent PSO starting on June 1, 2026, but the local authority said its proposal was not compliant with the requirements.

"We were legally not allowed to accept a non-compliant bid, and we had no compliant bids come forward in this process. This is the second time we have gone out to the market with a PSO tender - the most flexible tender we've ever offered - and we were still unable to reach a compliant," Cornwall Council leader Leigh Frost said.

"The Council has, for technical reasons, elected neither to consider our bid nor enter into any dialogue over a single disputed element of Cornwall Airport Newquay’s fees and charges," Skybus retorted.

The UK government has reduced its contribution to the PSO from the previous 66.7% to 50% under the new framework.

The local government said it will now work towards securing the route on purely commercial terms. Ryanair, Ryanair UK, and Loganair are the only other airlines currently serving the Cornish gateway.