Edinburgh to Glasgow flight: why Loganair has launched a new route between the Scottish cities - and how long it takes

Loganair are offering an alternative to the M8 with a new flight between Edinburgh and Glasgow

A Scottish airline is offering daily flights between the country’s two biggest cities.

Commuters can make the short trip between Glasgow airport on the outskirts of Paisley and Edinburgh airport in Ingliston seven days a week with Loganair.

The 66km journey takes just 15 minutes, according to Flight Radar, costing £45.41.

Passengers are able to buy a plane ticket between Edinburgh and Glasgow for just shy of £50 (Getty Images)

Loganair revealed the new route via their Facebook page, explaining that the route is “another side-effect of the pandemic”.

Why can passengers fly between Edinburgh and Glasgow?

Passengers at Edinburgh airport had been left scratching their heads when departure boards read the name of the neighbouring city’s flight centre, roughly an hours drive away.

But Loganair explained the obscure route via their Facebook page.

It wrote: “Well, it's no mistake, no publicity stunt, nor is it just a novel way of cutting down on rush hour traffic on the M8.

“The actual reason, however, is another side-effect of the pandemic...

"With insufficient demand for some routes from Edinburgh directly, we've temporarily amended our schedules to provide new mini-hubs across our network, allowing you to fly routes such as Edinburgh-Stornoway, via Glasgow, and Inverness to Kirkwall, via Aberdeen, to keep you connected as best as we possibly can right now.”

Though the sub-50 mile trip is intended to be used as a stop-off to towns in the country’s north, passengers are able to book a flight between the two cities at the airline’s official website.

The route is covered by a 50-seat Embraer ERJ145. According to Flight Radar the plane reaches just shy of 6,000 ft and a top speed of 494mph.

How does it compare to train, bus and car travel?

Loganair list the flight time between the two cities as 30 minutes, though Flight Radar say that the average flight time is just 20 minutes. Edinburgh Airport advises passengers travelling domestically to arrive at least one hour before a flight.

A cost of a single train ticket from Edinburgh to Glasgow Queen Street costs £13.40 and takes 51 minutes according to National Rail.

A Citylink bus from between the two city centres costs just £10 for a return but takes one hours and 20 minutes.

According to Google Maps a drive from Edinburgh Airport to Glasgow Airport would take 50 minutes.