EasyJet has announced a major boost for Birmingham Airport passengers with the launch of 16 new routes ready for the summer holiday season.
The budget airline has added brand new flights to favourite holiday hotspots in Spain, Greece, Turkey and more, starting from March 18. Following the opening of its Birmingham base, easyJet now runs 29 routes from BHX to destinations across the UK, Europe and north Africa.
Four new Spanish routes have been added, including Fuerteventura, Malaga, Alicante and Tenerife, plus four to Greece – Rhodes, Corfu, Kos and Heraklion in Crete, as well as Antalya, Berlin, Enfidha, Sharm el Sheikh, Dalaman, Jersey and Larnaca. EasyJet already serves key domestic connections and international routes from Birmingham to the likes of Amsterdam, Geneva, Milan, Naples, Lisbon, Faro and Palma de Mallorca.
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The new three aircraft base at Birmingham Airport has created 140 direct jobs and will support a further 1,200 jobs indirectly. EasyJet’s passenger numbers in Brum are expected to increase by nearly 60% this year compared to the last, with destinations like Majorca, Dalaman, Antalya, Sharm el Sheikh and Tunisia looking most popular for this summer.
Sun-seekers can choose from dreamy beach breaks in Antalya, Dalaman or Corfu, see the black sand beaches of Tenerife, soak up the culture in Rhodes or head to Sharm el Sheikh to explore the beautiful coral reefs and Sinai desert.
To celebrate the launch, travellers can get £100 off package holidays booked on the easyJet website with code BIRMINGHAM. Jetsetters can browse thousands of package holidays with flights, 23kg luggage and transfers included, with deposits starting from £60pp and the option to spread the cost free of charge.
If you’re in the market for some new luggage for your trip, luxury suitcase brand Antler is offering huge savings on bags in its spring sale. It includes the Clifton Cabin Bag with Pocket – down from £220 to £154 – which is ideal for those upgrading to a large cabin bag for their EasyJet flight. For those sticking to their EasyJet free allowance, Antler’s Chelsea Backpack is the perfect size – now reduced from £140 to £84.
Johan Lundgren, CEO of easyJet, said: “We are excited to open our newest UK base at Birmingham today, providing more choice, competition and connectivity as well as supporting over 1200 jobs for the region.
“This base is enabling us to unlock the opportunity of the strong demand which exists for both leisure and business travel, as well as further grow our share of the package holiday market. We see much untapped potential at the airport providing the opportunity to grow further in future years.”
Nick Barton, CEO of Birmingham Airport, added: “Today sees our growing partnership with easyJet reach new heights as the airline bases three aircraft here at Birmingham Airport. Customers can now take advantage of the airline’s 16 new routes and have the flexibility of flight only or a full package holiday.
“easyJet has been a partner airline for 17 years. Its expansion here at Birmingham Airport is testament to the service, quality, price, reliability and choice of destination that its customers have come to expect.
We are looking forward to working with easyJet to further grow its destination list for our customers.”