Five vacation destinations are being added to easyJet’s network from Birmingham Airport (BHX) this summer as the LCC banks on a rebound in leisure demand.
Starting June 29, the UK-based carrier will offer flights to Malaga (AGP) and Faro (FAO), operating 2X-weekly and 3X-weekly respectively.
Service to Alicante (ALC) begins on June 3, followed by flights to Palma de Mallorca (PMI) on July 3, both of which will be offered three times per week. Finally, easyJet will launch flights to Corfu (CFU) on July 4, flying 2X-weekly.
“EasyJet already offers direct routes to Amsterdam, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Geneva, so these additional sunshine routes demonstrate the strong demand in the region for both business and leisure travel and the carrier’s commitment to serving the Midlands,” BHX CEO Nick Barton said.
It is currently illegal to leave the UK without a “reasonable excuse,” with fines of £5,000 ($6,887) in place for anyone caught going abroad on holiday in England.
The earliest date people in England could go abroad for a holiday would be May 17—although the fine is scheduled to remain in place until June 30.
“We believe that a framework can be put in place for the safe reopening of travel and a strong summer, and we are currently focused on working with the UK Government Travel Task Force in the coming days and weeks,” easyJet UK country manager Ali Gayward said.
“We are hopeful that progress will continue to be made with the vaccination programmes in Europe, with several countries in Europe having indicated they will be welcoming British tourists this summer.”
Gayward said easyJet believes COVID-19 travel restrictions can be “safely and progressively reduced—and in some cases removed” by mid-summer for key destinations.
“We’ve kept our fleet in a flight-ready mode so we are ready and able to ramp-up our services quickly and increase our capacity where we see increased demand for the summer,” she added.
According to data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser, easyJet will face competition on each of the five new routes being launched from BHX. Jet2.com, Ryanair and TUI Airways serve all five destinations, which Eurowings plans to enter the BHX-PMI market from late May.
EasyJet’s planned new routes come a week after AnadoluJet, a subsidiary of Turkish Airlines, announced plans to begin service to BHX. The airline will serve Antalya (AYT) and Dalaman (DLM) in Turkey using Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Flights will start on July 19.
Photo credit: Joe Pries
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