Travel Question of the Day: Did BA ever fly internationally from outside London?

Have a travel question that needs answering? Ask our expert Simon Calder

BA used to fly from a dozen regional airports (AFP/Getty)

Q I saw your story about destinations that have disappeared from the airline schedules. It’s a travesty that BA runs so few international routes from the north. Was it ever different?

Lorna Parkes

A Yes. At present all British Airways routes begin or end at one of the London airports: Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted or London City. But if you go back to the last century, BA had a flourishing route network from a dozen regional airports, mainly domestic and European services. There were also some choice long-haul routes, such as from Manchester to both Los Angeles and Hong Kong. Each route has returned, on Thomas Cook Airlines to LA and Cathay Pacific to HK (which, unlike the BA service, is non-stop; the original route stopped at Munich, Dubai and Bangkok).

There were also some important transatlantic links, connecting Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow with New York (and occasionally extending to Boston). Again, these routes have been reinstated by other airlines, with United in the forefront.

Every day, our travel correspondent, Simon Calder, tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder