Jet2 will operate flights from Liverpool John Lennon Airport for the first time, beginning next spring.
The airline and holiday company has made Liverpool its 11th UK airport and will fly to 20 destinations across Europe from March 2024. Among the destinations are seven routes which are not currently served from Liverpool.
The new summer routes brought to the airport by Jet2 are to Gran Canaria, Menorca, Rhodes, Zante, Madeira, Paphos and Bourgas. Four Jet2 planes will be based in Speke to operate its summer schedule, creating 200 jobs.
READ MORE: Jet2 coming to Liverpool John Lennon Airport with 20 destinations on offer
As the airline's partnership with Liverpool was announced, CEO Steve Heapy said it had been a long time coming.
Asked what drew Jet2 to Liverpool, he told the ECHO: "It's quite simply, customer demand. Demand from people in the Merseyside catchment area, North Wales, South Cumbria, Cheshire. Demand from the independent travel agents in the region that want a real package holiday to sell and we’re very pleased to be serving that demand.
"We’ve been asked for a long time to come here - the time is now right, we’re through covid and we are back to growing and serving the people of the region, so it’s very exciting news."
He added: "There are 20 routes, seven that are not served at the moment from the airport. We’ve got flights from March next year for the summer and next week we’ll be putting flights on for the winter as well.
"So there’s lots for people to look at. Go on our website and you’ll see what routes are available, there are a lot of exciting products on there."
Liverpool John Lennon Airport CEO John Irving told the ECHO that Jet2's arrival was a success for the airport and the city region.
He said: "For the first time ever, customers within the city region can book with Jet2 on their award-winning package holidays, which is something this airport has been missing for a long time. We're absolutely delighted that Jet2 have shown their commitment and faith in the region and in the city to become their 11th base."
"I think it's important for us to get the right mix of destinations. We've got some really strong routes - as we always have done with our other airlines.
"That's great, but we do need a breadth of destinations so that people can choose to come here. For a long time, you could go to your standard destinations but Jet2 bring a new set of them.
"That's good for us, that's good for the passengers, having more choice and more options from Liverpool. That's what we're all about with Jet2 and easyJet and Ryanair."
Mr Irving said the arrival of Jet2 is a significant point in the airport's recovery from pandemic, which emphasises its ambition to grow.
He said: "We're still in recovery as an industry, not just as an airport, so it's important for us. We've built well this summer, we've got more seats on sale this summer with easyJet and Ryanair.
"It's important that we keep doing that. We were a five million passenger airport before the pandemic. This year we should be about 90% of that.
"Bringing in new routes, new destinations and new carriers helps us achieve even more and get us not just back to five million but to the size of the airport that we think we should be going forward."
As well as offering people in the region a greater choice of European destinations available from the airport, Mr Irving hopes to see Jet2 bringing inbound traffic to the region.
He said: "It's a really fortunate position for us to be in. We've got a great city, a great city region with loads going on.
"Eurovision was one example of what is a very consistent set of travellers coming inbound. With every route we announce there is always inbound traffic - no matter what that route is. It (bringing people to the region) is a huge part of what we do, it's a vital part of our airlines' work with us and I think there's more to come with that as well."
Tickets are on sale for Jet2's summer 2024 season now. They can be booked via the Jet2 website or by phoning the Contact Centre, or through a travel agent.
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