JET2 TO LAUNCH HUGE NEW UK BASE WITH 16 ROUTES TO HOTSPOTS LIKE TENERIFE AND IBIZA
The south of England is soon to get another connection to destinations across Europe and the world.
Airline and tour operator Jet2 has announced that it will offer flights and package holidays from Bournemouth Airport from next year. The airline will run 16 new routes, which will start from April 2025 and serve tourist destinations in Turkey, Spain, Portugal and Greece.
Jet2 announced that it would base two aircraft at Bournemouth, flying to Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Alicante, Palma (Majorca), Ibiza, Menorca, Antalya, Dalaman, Faro, Madeira, Crete (Heraklion), Corfu, Rhodes and Zante. The planes will run on up to 27 weekly flights throughout the summer. The first will depart to Tenerife on 1 April 2025.
It comes after the regional coastal airport said it expected to see its highest passenger figures this year since 2008. Bournemouth Airport is in the process of investing more than £5m in new facilities and staff to cater for an expected increase in passenger numbers as a result of the decision.
Last year Ryanair based a second aircraft at the site while TUI has expressed plans to add a second plane later in 2024, with an extra 60,000 seats available once it has.
The Jet2 expansion will see at least 100 new jobs created at the start, with positions available across flight deck, cabin crew, engineering and ground operations, the company said in a statement released on Tuesday. This move was announced just days before Jet2.com and Jet2holidays started operations from Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays said: “We know that customers and independent travel agents have been asking us for a long time to make this move, so we are absolutely delighted to be announcing today that Bournemouth Airport will become our 12th UK base airport. As Which? Travel Brand of the Year, we know that our award-winning flights and holidays will be enormously popular across the region, and we cannot wait to show everyone what we are all about.
"This latest expansion is a further demonstration of our confidence, and it reflects our long-term strategy to be the UK's leading and best leisure travel business. We know that customers want to be properly looked after throughout their holiday experience, and we are making a significant investment in the region including the creation of over 100 new jobs to do exactly that. From today, we are counting down to the start of operations from Bournemouth Airport when we can delight customers, just as we have with millions of other customers from across the UK for so many years.”
Bournemouth Airport is due a series of updates including an upgraded security search area, with new scanning equipment so relaxed rules around liquid amounts in hand luggage can be relaxed. A new information desk is also being built.
Check out more of Daily Mirror's latest travel stories by signing up to our free weekly newsletter.
2024-03-27T16:58:53Z dg43tfdfdgfd