British Airways last night said it was still firmly committed to the North-East despite cutting four routes.

Flights from Newcastle Airport to Aberdeen, Birmingham, Dublin and Southampton will be transferred to other airlines by the end of March.

The move was billed as partly cost-cutting and partly upgrading of its existing service.

The regional BA CitiExpress routes are serviced by Jetstream 41 turbo-prop planes and BA said it was now committed to running solely a jet-engine fleet.

Crucially for Newcastle, BA's services to Gatwick and Heathrow remain unaffected, as is the run to Bristol.

Its call centre, which employs 930 people in the city, will also not be harmed by the move, which is part of a larger initiative to chop 21 routes.

Forty-nine pilots, crew and support staff will be given the option of relocating within BA or working for the new route operators.

Aer Arann Express will operate a Newcastle to Dublin service from January 6, starting with two return flights each weekday and growing to three weekday services from May.

Eastern Airways will operate Newcastle to Aberdeen, Birmingham and Southampton services.