easyJet to grow Manchester routes

LOW cost airline easyJet, is launching five new routes from Manchester Airport and basing an additional aircraft there, a move which will create 80 jobs.

The new routes, represent major growth at Manchester, where it has been operating from for just four years.  From next February easyJet will serve 29 destinations across Europe and the Middle East.

The addition of an additional Airbus A319 – which will be the seventh aircraft at Manchester –  and should support around 250 indirect jobs, the airline says.

The new routes include key city break destinations Reykjavik and Venice as well as popular summer sun destinations such as Antalya in Turkey along with the Greek islands of Mykonos and Santorini.

Ali Gayward, easyJet’s UK commercial manager, said: “The new aircraft means that we can create much-needed jobs in the region as well as increase the number and variety of routes we are able to operate.

“Our new 2013 schedule will appeal to our leisure passengers who are looking to travel with us on both city breaks and summer sun holidays. They’re destinations we’ve had a lot of requests for, so I’m sure they will prove popular.”

Ken O’Toole, chief commercial officer at Manchester Airports Group (MAG), said: “We’re excited about the pace of growth being delivered by easyJet from Manchester and keen to support their expansion plans over the next few years.

“Since easyJet established a base here in 2008, we have witnessed a rapid rise in passenger numbers and the additional routes added for next summer will be popular choices for customers here in the North.”

Since launching flights from Manchester in 2008 easyJet has more than trebled as flown 4.6 million passengers and it now operates 264 flights a week.