British Airways ceases flights between Madrid and London City airport as UK Parliament votes to start Brexit talks

Customers with bookings from Madrid to the central London airport have been advised they will be taken to Heathrow or Gatwick instead.

The decision of the airline, which is owned by IAG along with Spanish national carrier Iberia, has stunned Spaniards working in the City of London, as well as British employees who need to travel regularly to the Spanish capital on business.

BA's axing its CTY-MAD route comes just as the UK Parliament voted overwhelmingly for its government to begin Brexit negotiations with the remaining EU-27, and just as Madrid's regional president Cristina Cifuentes has launched a campaign for the Spanish capital to become the new 'City of London' after Britain leaves the European Union.

According to BA's website, City employees can only take direct flights to five Spanish airports – Granada, Málaga and the three Balearic Island terminals.

London City airport remains, however, connected directly with other major European capitals and large metropolitan areas including Amsterdam, Berlin, Dublin, Venice, Nice and even the Greek island of Mykonos.

British Airways has announced its summer flight programme, starting in May which includes direct routes from Manchester to the Spanish cities of Alicante, Málaga, Ibiza and Palma de Mallorca, as well as to the island of Mykonos and the southern French city of Nice.

It will also start to run flights from London Stansted, a terminal which forms part of the Manchester Airport Group, to Florence, Geneva, Nice, and the Greek island of Skiathos, as well as increasing its existing routes to Ibiza and Palma de Mallorca.

BA flights from Stansted to Málaga and the southern Portuguese city of Faro will start up again from May.

Direct flights from Birmingham and Bristol to Ibiza, Palma de Mallorca and Málaga, in Spain and Florence in eastern Italy will also start in May.