You never know what might be around the corner. These things all happen for a reason. Tbh Eastern was a concern even before COVID. And it’s absolutely no surprise they have stopped Newcastle to Southampton as there were far too many flights on that route with two airlines - completely unsustainable.
Post Covid-19 I’dlove to see BA CityFlyer come in to SOU with a based and quality operation with jets rather than the very old and costly to maintain J-41’s of Eastern.