BA ends long haul from Manchester

British Airways' (BA) last direct international flight from Manchester is due to take off.

The airline flies to New York for the final time at 1000 BST on Saturday and international BA passengers will afterwards have to travel via London.

A BA spokeswoman said a decline in business travellers and increased competition had forced the move.

New York was British Airways' only remaining international route from Manchester Airport.

The airline used to fly to European destinations from the city before it sold the regional arm of its company to Flybe 18 months ago.

Fewer passengers

The BA spokeswoman said this was due to having no local crew and dwindling passenger numbers from across the north-west of England.

Travellers can still fly with BA from Manchester, but only to Heathrow and Gatwick.

She said: "We have had to make this move because the flight [to New York] is making losses. The number of business passengers had decreased and we get a lot of our income on such long-haul flights."

Other firms, including Delta and Continental, offer transatlantic services from Manchester.

The BA flight from Manchester to JFK airport in New York used to fly on a daily basis, seven days a week.