Manchester airport loses its remaining US-based carrier

In an internal memo, American said demand in Europe remained low despite Covid testing programmes and that consequently American “will be redeploying aircraft used to operate certain transatlantic markets into Latin America and the Caribbean”.

“As a result, we have made the difficult decision to close our operations in Manchester.”

The decision means American’s only Manchester route, to Philadelphia, will not resume when Covid restrictions are lifted. The airline also flew Manchester-JFK until dropping the service a few years ago.

American’s exit from the northern airport follows that of Delta and United. It fuels speculation that Aer Lingus will launch non-stop services to the US to fill gaps to key destinations.

An American Airlines spokesperson told TTG: “We have been adjusting our international schedule since March to match severely decreased customer demand as a result of the pandemic.

“Unfortunately, our year-round service to Manchester from Philadelphia is no longer sustainable in this current demand environment. We thank our team members for their service; we will work closely with them during this time.”

American’s departure leaves Manchester with Singapore Airlines’ Houston route and with Virgin Atlantic, which pre-Covid served Atlanta and New York – previously Delta routes – plus Orlando, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

A Manchester airport spokesperson said it was awaiting clarity from Virgin as to when these routes will resume.

Despite its exit from Manchester, American has confirmed that its summer-only Edinburgh-Philadelphia service, which is popular with US visitors to Scotland, will resume on 3 June. Philadelphia will also continue from Heathrow.