On Thursday morning, easyJet carried its first passengers to its newest destination from Liverpool John Lennon Airport. Tony McDonough reports
Low-cost airline easyJet has launched a new route out of Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) as it continues its recovery from the coronavirus shutdown.
Its first flight to Antalya in Turkey took off from Liverpool on Thursday morning. The route to the popular holiday resort adds easyJet’s existing services to two other Turkish destinations, Dalaman and Bodrum.
Flights to Antalya will operate weekly on Thursdays throughout the summer season. The city offers an abundance of historic attractions and is situated on what is known as the Turquoise Coast for its stunning blue waters.
The new route is good news for LJLA which, along with the rest of the aviation sector, has been hit badly by the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, April and well into May, most of Europe’s airlines came to a standstill as countries locked down to limit the spread of the virus.
Both its main airlines, easyJet and Ryanair, are now resuming regular flights on a number of routes out of Liverpool. Ryanair is currently flying to 27 destinations from Liverpool and easyJet now has 22 routes up and running.
Last week, the airport secured a £34m loan from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to provide “stability” during the ongoing turbulent period.
Following the departure of the Antalya route, Paul Winfield, director of aviation development at LJLA, said: “Passengers from across the North West and North Wales now have the opportunity to fly from Liverpool with easyJet to the three main Turkish Mediterranean holiday destinations.”