Liverpool Airport unveils huge expansion as Jet2 and Jet2holidays agree to launch 20 new routes to multiple European destinations, creating 200 jobs. Tony McDonough reports

 

Liverpool Airport will see 20 new European destinations added in spring 2024 with the arrival of the UK’s third-biggest airline and largest tour operator.

Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, which for years have been operating out of Manchester Airport, will make Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) their 11th UK airport. The first flights will take off on March, 28, 2024 – just in time for the Easter break.

This investment from Jet2 will see the creation of 200 jobs. John Irving, chief executive of Liverpool John Lennon Airport, said: “This is a great day for the airport and for the region’s holidaymakers.”

In their first summer of operations from LJLA, Jet2.com and Jet2holidays will operate up to 54 weekly flights, including 12 flights to both the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands every week.

A fleet of four based aircraft will fly customers to destinations across mainland Spain, the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Portugal, Madeira and Cyprus.

The programme also includes seven exclusive summer routes to Gran Canaria, Menorca, Rhodes, Zante, Madeira, Paphos and Bourgas (Bulgaria). A full list of destinations is at the bottom of this article.

Jet2holidays launched in 2007 and today it is the UK’s largest tour operator with an ATOL licence to carry 5.86m passengers.

When it launched it had an ATOL licence to carry just 23,000 passengers to 15 destinations whereas today it operates to more than 65 destinations across the Mediterranean, Canary Islands and Europe. 

Of the 200 jobs being created positions will include flight deck, cabin crew, engineering, and ground operations. To find out more interested candidates can click here.

Steve Heapy, chief executive of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays said: “This announcement further expands our footprint and comes on the back of the enormous demand that we know is out there from customers and independent travel agents.

“We have seen that demand really ramp up over the past couple of years, so we know there will be a fantastic response to this launch.”

On Monday LBN revealed how passenger numbers at LJLA were recovering strongly from the dark days of the pandemic. We also reported how the airport had deferred a repayment of a £30m loan to the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.

In the 12 months to March 31 this year, a period when it was still very much in the recovery phase, it handled 3.77m passengers. This is a year-on-year rise of more than 135% and equates to 78% of the 4.8m total for the last pre-COVID year.

 

 

In February this year Ryanair announced four new routes out of Liverpool in an £80m investment. Its main rival easyJet has upped its capacity by almost 20%.

In late April Aer Lingus returned to Liverpool for the first time since 2016 with a new route to Dublin. Emerald Airlines, which operates Are Lingus’s regional services, will offer 11 departures a week to the Irish capital.

This has given LJLA its third global hub link. German carrier Lufthansa began its hub link between Liverpool and Frankfurt in May 2022 and has since increased frequency. It offers onward flights to multiple global destinations.

Icelandic airline PLAY also offers ‘seamless’ onward connections to US cities Washington, Boston and New York via Reykjavik.

Speaking about the Jet2 news, John Irving added: “It’s also great to have seven new routes available that we know will be popular with holidaymakers and for our local independent travel agents to be able to sell.”

Full list of new Jet2 routes

Mainland Spain

• Alicante – up to four weekly services (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday)

Canary Islands

• Fuerteventura – up to two weekly services (Wednesday and Saturday)
• Gran Canaria – up to two weekly services (Tuesday and Saturday) – exclusive route 
• Lanzarote – up to three weekly services (Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday)
• Tenerife – up to five weekly services (Tuesday, Thursday Friday, Saturday and Sunday)

Balearic Islands

• Ibiza – up to three weekly services (Monday, Friday and Saturday) 
• Majorca – up to seven weekly services (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday Friday, Saturday and Sunday)
• Menorca – up to two weekly services (Wednesday and Sunday) – exclusive route

Portugal

• Faro – up to four weekly services (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday)
• Madeira – weekly Monday services – exclusive route 

Greece 

• Corfu – up to two weekly services (Monday and Friday)
• Crete (Heraklion) – up to two weekly services (Tuesday and Friday)
• Kos – weekly Friday services
• Rhodes – up to two weekly services (Monday and Thursday) – exclusive route 
• Zante – weekly Wednesday services – exclusive route 

Cyprus​

• Paphos – weekly Wednesday services – exclusive route 

Turkey

• Antalya – up to four weekly services (Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday)
• Dalaman – up to four weekly services (Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday)
• Bodrum – up to two weekly services (Wednesday and Sunday)

Bulgaria – exclusive from Liverpool Airport

• Bourgas – up to two weekly services (Monday and Thursday) – exclusive route