New services launched by airline

Take off: Top surfer Chris Thomson and kitesurfer Dreya Wharry with Air Southwest's managing director Malcolm Naylor at Watergate Bay

Five new air services will be taking off from Devon and Cornwall on Monday.

Plymouth-based airline Air Southwest is launching four new routes from Newquay and one from Plymouth.

Passengers from Plymouth and Newquay can travel to Leeds/Bradford, and passengers from Newquay can also fly to Manchester, Dublin and Bristol.

It follows fears about Newquay airport's future after the announcement of the imminent "mothballing" of the RAF base at St Mawgan.

The announcement in March prompted speculation that, if the RAF were to pull out of its partnership with the civil aviation companies, Cornwall could lose its air links altogether.

In the meantime, Air Southwest is optimistic the new additions to its Newquay/Gatwick service which flies four times a day, seven days a week, will strengthen the importance of other passenger services from the airport.