Loganair’s Scotland-Norway Routes Back In The Air

Following years of pandemic-related disruption, regular routes between Scotland and the west coast of Norway are returning.

Regional airline Loganair has resumed its previous routes from Edinburgh to Bergen and Stavanger, and launched a new route from to both the Norwegian cities from Newcastle in northeast England. The airline also plans to launch a direct route from Aberdeen to Oslo in the fall.

From Edinburgh, there will be three flights per week to/from each destination. Flights to Stavanger will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, with flights to Bergen on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

From Newcastle, there will be flights to Stavanger on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Bergen flights will operate twice weekly on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

A boost for industry

Scotland and the west coast of Norway have significant business links especially in the energy industry.

Despite long-running campaigns, there are no direct ferry routes between the U.K. and Norway, so the new Loganair routes will strengthen the travel options from Scotland and the north of England to the Norwegian fjords

Norwegian regional airline Widerøe also offers a flight between Aberdeen and Bergen. Although you might expect the two airlines to compete, they have a codeshare agreement in place that Loganair promotes as allowing Scottish travelers to easily reach northern Norway. Widerøe operates regular flights from Bergen to Tromsø.

A boost for tourism

Loganair hopes to lure back tourists to what before the pandemic was a popular destination with Scottish travelers. It’s another positive step for tourism in Norway following the news of record cruise ship calls planned in 2022.

Fjord Norway CEO Stein Ove Rolland was welcoming to the “very positive” news: “After a demanding pandemic many are eager to get out and explore again, and the routes to Stavanger and Bergen will make experiences to the Norwegian fjords easily accessible for the Scottish people.”

One thing for travelers to bear in mind is that Loganair’s standard tickets include just 15kg of checked baggage. That’s notably lower than the 20kg or 23kg included with other airline tickets, so will make packing for longer trips more challenging.

To mark its 60th anniversary, Loganair has also launched a series of new routes around the U.K. and Ireland. They include Edinburgh to Derry, Inverness/Teeside to Dublin, and Inverness to Newquay.