Scheduled passenger flights are returning to Kent International Airport next summer with Europe’s largest regional airline, Flybe, operating weekly flights to Jersey.

KIA chief executive Matt Clarke said: "I’m absolutely delighted to be announcing the first scheduled passenger service since the airport has been under Infratil ownership. I am looking forward to working with Flybe whose arrival is a major vote of confidence in the airport and our exciting plans for it."

Flybe operates more than 180 routes and carried more than seven million passengers in its 78-seater Q400 aircraft last year.

In October it was named as the biggest mid-market private company in Britain in The Sunday Times HSBC Top Track 250 league table, fending off other household names such as Harrods, Dyson and Manchester United FC.

Mr Clarke added: "We know from the excellent passenger loads achieved by charter operators that the demand for flights to and from Jersey exists. Now people in Kent and beyond will benefit from a scheduled service as well as the hassle-free experience of flying from Kent International."