Loganair, the UK’s largest regional airline, has announced that it will be opening its tenth UK base at Southampton Airport (SOU) in October 2025. In a statement issued by the airline on March 4, 2025, the airline said that the move will “generate new jobs, specifically for pilots, cabin crew and engineers from the local area, and offer new flight connections to and from the strategically important and prosperous region [of southern England].”
The opening of a new base at Southampton Airport (which is already served by the carrier from other UK bases) will allow Loganair to connect the airport with other key regional airports in the UK and will increase the number of seats offered by the airline by over 140,000 per year. It is planned that the Southampton base will be operated by two ATR-72 600 aircraft, with the first aircraft arriving at the airport in October 2025.
Loganair has nine other bases located in Kirkwall, Inverness, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, the City of Derry, Newcastle, and the Isle of Man. The airline operates a current fleet of 35 aircraft, including 19 ATR42/72s, two Britten Norman islanders, three DHC-6 Twin Otters, and 11 Embraer ERJ-145 regional jets.
In addition to the news of this tenth new UK base for the airline, Loganair has also announced plans to launch two completely new routes, as well as increasing capacity on one of its existing ones. From October 26, 2025, new routes will be operated between Southampton and Manchester Airport (MAN) as well as Manchester to Exeter (EXE) in the southwest of England. Elsewhere on the carrier’s network, new routes from Manchester to Inverness (INV) and Aberdeen are also being launched.
Additionally, the aircraft that operates the existing route between Southampton and Edinburgh (EDI) will be upgraded from a 49-seat ATR42 to an ATR72 turboprop, seating 72 passengers.
According to the airline, the new route from Southampton to Manchester has been timed to allow onward connections to Inverness, Aberdeen, and the Isle of Man. Additionally, the connections through Manchester will allow passengers to take more advantage of Loganair’s existing partnerships with airlines such as Emirates, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, and Aer Lingus. These relationships offer customers the benefits of single tickets and their luggage being checked through to their final destination.
What the airline says
“We are delighted to be announcing a new base in Southampton, which is a logical and important strategic step for the UK’s largest regional airline,” said Luke Farajallah, Chief Executive Officer at Loganair. “Loganair is very familiar with operations to and from the South Coast, and we feel confident the local market will respond well to our more permanent presence and new routes through the basing of two aircraft later this year.”
“The DNA of our business for over six decades has been to connect regions and cities and to connect island communities to the mainland. Southampton offers a unique location, and we believe the markets, local people, and businesses will respond well to our presence in this thriving part of the UK. We are also looking forward to welcoming our new team members, who will be recruited from the local areas.”
“We would like to thank our partners at AGS (Aberdeen, Glasgow & Southampton Airport Group) for working with our teams to deliver a new dimension to our existing partnership, and we look forward to enabling growth as we develop this new base”.
“This announcement represents both a significant investment and huge vote of confidence from Loganair in Southampton Airport,” added Kam Jandu, Chief Executive of AGS Airports (owners of Southampton Airport). “Establishing what will be its 10th base will not only significantly enhance the region’s connectivity, but it will deliver a welcome boost for the local economy by creating meaningful employment opportunities.