Flybe has started its multi-frequency daily route between Cardiff and London City.
The regional airline will offer three flights on weekdays and two a day on weekends.
Secretary of state for Wales, Alun Cairns headed up a delegation of business people for this morning’s inaugural flight and was joined by the airline’s GM UK (South), Paul Willoughby, Cardiff airport chairman Roger Lewis and managing director and chief operating officer, Debra Barber.
Cairns said: "The flights being offered by Flybe from Cardiff to London City Airport are a helpful way of ensuring that the Welsh capital, Canary Wharf and central London stay connected during the temporary closure of the Severn Tunnel.
"Cardiff is growing in significance as a centre for financial services and the need for fast transport connections for business travellers is only going to increase.
"I hope we will see an expanding range of regional air services from London to Cardiff in the longer term. We need to make it as easy as possible for commuters to get here."
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