A hub for reaching summer destinations on weekends from eight UK departure points is being created by Flybe at Southampton airport.
The seasonal schedule opens up 76 connections to 12 destinations in regional France and Italy on Saturdays and Sundays.
Passengers from regional airports such as Aberdeen, Belfast, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle will be able to connect via Southampton to their final destination with just one initial check-in at their originating airport.
The airline aims to keep the connecting time at Southampton to an “absolute minimum”. The hub connections will run at weekends between May 27 and September 3.
The network includes destinations including Avignon, Bergerac Dordogne, Bordeaux, Brest, La Rochelle, Limoges, Nantes, Perpignan-Rivesaltes, Rennes, Toulon-Hyères and Verona.
The regional airline’s chief revenue officer, Vincent Hodder, said: “We are delighted to introduce the new Southampton leisure hub to our regional passengers this summer.
“It further enhances the ever growing number of connections available to our customers wanting to enjoy fast, convenient travel farther afield from their local airport.”
Southampton airport’s managing director, Dave Lees, added: “It is great that Southampton Airport is now a weekend leisure hub for Flybe which allows the rest of the UK to enjoy a breeze through experience en route to their holiday destination.
“The airport prides itself on being fast, easy and friendly and is delighted that it can now help even more passengers reach summer sun from their local airport.”