You don’t need a crystal ball to predict that countries outside the eurozone will be among the most popular holiday destinations again this summer, particularly for families looking for good value for money. And that has been reflected in increased airlift from the UK.
Turkey
The case in point is Turkey. All three of the country’s chief coastal regions will be more accessible this summer following a significant rise in the number of flights, especially from regional airports.
Thomson Airways has new flights to Antalya on the Mediterranean coast from Bournemouth, Cardiff, Doncaster and Glasgow, as well as a new flight to Bodrum from Bournemouth.
Monarch has added flights to Dalaman on the Turquoise Coast from Birmingham and Luton; to Bodrum on the Aegean Coast from Luton; plus flights to Antalya from Manchester.
Thomas Cook Airlines has new flights to Antalya from Aberdeen and Leeds Bradford, and to Dalaman from Aberdeen. It will also fly for the first time from Newcastle airport to Izmir on the North Aegean Coast.
EasyJet, which currently flies from London to Istanbul, will launch flights from Stansted to Bodrum and Dalaman in May and from Bristol to Bodrum and Dalaman in mid-July.
North Africa & Egypt
EasyJet will also start a Manchester route to Egypt’s popular Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on April 30.
Thomas Cook Airlines is also launching flights to Sharm from Leeds Bradford and Stansted, while Thomson is adding routes from Bournemouth to Sharm and from Gatwick and Manchester to Marsa Matruh, a newish resort on the Mediterranean coast.
Thomson is adding services to Marrakesh in Morocco from Gatwick and Manchester and will fly to Monastir in Tunisia from Bournemouth, Cardiff, Doncaster, Glasgow and Stansted.
Meanwhile, Thomas Cook Airlines is launching flights to Monastir from Aberdeen, Cardiff, Exeter and Edinburgh, while May 3 sees Ryanair commence its new route from Stansted to Fez in Morocco, replacing its service out of Luton.
Eastern Europe
Bulgaria is also expected to benefit from the growth in demand for destinations outside the eurozone and Thomson and Thomas Cook have added flights to the Black Sea resort of Bourgas from East Midlands. Thomas Cook will also fly to Bourgas from Newcastle for the first time.
No-frills airline Bmibaby has a summer-only service to Dubrovnik from East Midlands, starting on May 30; easyJet will launch flights from Stansted to Dubrovnik and Split in mid-May; and Thomson Flights will operate from Bristol to Pula in Croatia for the first time.
Meanwhile, Ukraine International Airlines has taken delivery of its third 189-seat Boeing 737-800 in seven months, and has a fourth due to enter service in April to help bolster its summer schedule.
The Ukrainian carrier, which operates a daily non-stop Gatwick-Kiev service, has re-jigged its timetable of flights from Kiev for the summer to enable travellers from the UK to better connect with its range of onward flights to other destinations in the region such as Tbilisi in Georgia, and Lviv and Odessa, both in Ukraine.
In the Eurozone
Despite the strength of the euro, bookings to the Canary Islands are showing year-on-year growth for some operators. Monarch has expanded its services to the islands with new flights from Birmingham, Gatwick, Luton and Manchester to Fuerteventura and from Birmingham, Gatwick and Manchester to Gran Canaria.
Moreover, Ryanair will fly to Fuerteventura from Bristol and Stansted for the first time from May 3 and Thomson has new flights to Gran Canaria from Bournemouth and Bristol, in addition to a new Doncaster-Lanzarote route.
Greece
This summer will also see a smattering of new flights to Greece, mainly from regional airports. Thomson will fly to the island of Mykonos for the first time, starting with a programme from Gatwick and Manchester. It also has new flights to Santorini from Birmingham, to Corfu from Bournemouth, to Kefalonia from Luton and to Kos from Newcastle.
Thomas Cook will operate new flights to Skiathos and Santorini from Birmingham and to Kefalonia from Stansted. And on June 12, easyJet will commence flights from Liverpool to Rhodes and from Bristol to Heraklion in Crete.
Corsica and Sardinia
The Mediterranean islands, which have traditionally been expensive destinations, will be cheaper and easier to reach this summer due to a number of new flights from the low-cost airlines.
Ryanair will fly to Figari on the southern tip of Corsica from Stansted from May 3. Bmibaby is launching summer-only flights to Bastia in Corsica from East Midlands on May 30 and flights to Alghero in Sardinia from East Midlands on May 29. EasyJet will fly from Stansted to Cagliari in Sardinia during the summer.
Rest of the Med
Thomas Cook Airlines is putting on new flights from Cardiff and East Midlands to Spain’s Costa del Sol, while passengers heading to the Costa Brava will have new services from East Midlands to Barcelona, operated by Bmibaby, and from Doncaster, operated by easyJet.
Thomson will fly from Belfast to Ibiza for the first time and from Leeds Bradford to Palma in Majorca. EasyJet will fly to Palma from Doncaster and to Mahon in Menorca from Manchester, while BA CityFlyer will have new flights from London City to Majorca and Ibiza, operating up to six times a week during the summer peak.
For holidaymakers heading to Portugal, Thomson is introducing a flight to Faro from Belfast for this summer, while easyJet will offer the destination from Doncaster. In addition, Thomson is adding Funchal in Madeira to its list of destinations offered from East Midlands.
Moving on to Malta, Bmibaby will launch a summer-only service from its base at East Midlands airport on May 29 and easyJet will operate flights from Liverpool to Malta for the first time, starting on June 13.
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This article appeared in a special aviation-themed issue of Travel Weekly edited by Virgin Atlantic chief executive Steve Ridgway
