Liverpool responds to airline’s call for new airport partners
Liverpool John Lennon Airport is to pitch for new routes from Turkish-German airline, SunExpress.
The carrier has issued a ‘Request for Proposals’, seeking new strategic and long term airport partners in the UK and Ireland.
The full service airline, which recently announced 23 new routes between Turkey and destinations in Europe and the Middle East, is looking to rebuild traffic post-pandemic and add additional capacity to its summer 2022 schedule from both unserved and under-served airports in the UK and Ireland.
Airports that are large enough to sustain demand to Turkey will be invited to participate with a formal response for evaluation with a submission deadline of October 1, which could lead to further conversations at World Routes in Milan this October.
Wilken Bellmann, head of network planning and scheduling at SunExpress, said: “We have identified the United Kingdom and Ireland as our next strategic markets that are sizeable enough to support our growing fleet while also fitting our sales and pricing strategy.
“According to our data, it is the third largest market to the destinations we are serving in Turkey and had shown the most consistent and sustainable growth in passenger numbers, before the COVID-19 pandemic.”
A spokesperson for Liverpool John Lennon Airport said they will be following up on the carrier’s request, saying: “Our aviation development team will be following up with SunExpress.”
The airport is today (August 11) also celebrating the addition of a new service by budget carrier Wizz Air to the Albanian capital Tirana, set to commence this winter.
Wizz Air
Three times weekly flights are due to start on December 10, 2021, departing on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with Liverpool becoming the only UK airport outside of London to serve the Albanian capital.
This is Wizz Air’s third new route from Liverpool to be announced so far this year and adds to Wizz Air’s growing network by becoming its 14th route from LJLA.
Paul Winfield, LJLA’s director of aviation development, said: “Throughout the pandemic we have worked closely with Wizz Air who have continued to explore new opportunities for services all across Europe and we are, therefore, delighted that Liverpool continues to be an important part of their future plans with further expansion of their popular services from here.”
SunExpress, a joint venture between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, announced in December 2020 that it was planning to launch a direct flight between Manchester Airport and Antalya in Turkey this year, depending on pandemic travel restrictions.
Karen Smart, Manchester Airport managing director said at the time: “After a difficult year, the route will mean families and households across our vast catchment will have additional access to one of our most popular summer destinations.”
