United Airlines ends New York to Newcastle flights over Brexit pound fears
An American airline is ending flights between New York and Newcastle over fears for the strength of the pound in the wake of the Brexit vote.
United Airlines said its last service from Newcastle will fly on 6 September.
The company said the route was "not profitable" and anticipated an "impact of the weaker pound in UK outbound travel".
The pound has lost more than 13% of its value against the US dollar since the UK voted to leave the EU.
The airline has run the service between Newcastle and Newark for six days a week for the last two summers.
A spokeswoman for United Airlines said: "We have regretfully taken this decision because this seasonal route has not proved to be profitable and because of the anticipated impact of the weaker pound on UK outbound travel."
Newcastle Airport said the news was "disappointing" but said it does not reflect growing passenger numbers, with new routes recently agreed to places like Berlin and Warsaw.
Iain Malcolm, chairman of LA7, the combined authority of seven North East councils, said: "This is disappointing news. The region pulled together magnificently to secure a New York service and we have all worked extremely hard to make it work.
"While it is a blow to lose the service, especially given that numbers were up, the reasons are understandable."