Passenger flights between Shoreham Airport and France are to start in June.

The news is a massive boost for plans to transform the Sussex airfield into a major flight route to Europe.

Sky Trek will become the first firm to run scheduled daily services to the fashionable resort of Le Touquet on the northern French coast. Departures will be at 8.45am and the return at 5pm daily between June 2 and October 30. The service may be expanded to operate all year round if it is a success.

Airport chairman Mike Middleton revealed talks were also being held with three other companies about starting passenger flights within Britain and to European cities such as Paris and Amsterdam from June.

He said: "This is a big boost for Shoreham and should be the first of many services. The days of commercial scheduled flights from Shoreham Airport are about to become a reality."

The new service will be competing with Gatwick and the ferry link between Newhaven and Dieppe. It is being promoted for its quick check-in time and the scenic route it will take.

The Britten-Norman Trilander plane can carry 16 passengers and will fly low along the Sussex coast to Brighton Marina, where it will cross the Channel.

Jonathan Gordon, managing director of Sky Trek, based in Lydd, Kent, said: "You can turn up at Shoreham airport within 30 minutes of departure and hop on the plane. It's very relaxed and personable."

The flight will take less than 40 minutes. The cost of a return flight will range from £99.90 to £129.90 and a standby return flight will cost £79.90.

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