Airlines commit to further expansion at Manchester Airport
Two budget carriers are investing in further expansion at Manchester Airport.
EasyJet is adding a 22nd aircraft based at the airport from next summer, while Jet2.com and Jet2holidays have added Pula to their Summer 2025 programme from Manchester Airport.
The easyJet aircraft serve a range of the 26 destinations operated by the carrier, including a new route to the Greek island of Skiathos. The new service will operate from May 5, on Tuesdays and Sundays, with seats on sale from November 30.
The new Airbus A320neo aircraft will create around 40 local job opportunities, said easyJet, as well as environmental and operational efficiencies compared with the current generation of aircraft, resulting in at least 15% less CO2 emissions and 50% less noise during take-off and landing.
Over the past 18 months easyJet’s network from Manchester has gone from strength-to-strength with new routes to Belfast City, Grenoble, Reus, Istanbul, Paris, Fuerteventura, La Rochelle, Burgas in Bulgaria, Murcia in Spain and Chania in Crete, as well as two new destinations on easyJet’s network, Kittila in Lapland and Istanbul in Turkey, which are taking off this winter.
Flights to Kittila are operating twice a week throughout the winter. Flights to Istanbul are operating twice a week on Mondays and Fridays, providing a direct connection for customers from the North West.
Ali Gayward, easyJet’s UK country manager, said: “We continue to see opportunity to offer our customers in the North West even more choice, which is why we are delighted to announce the expansion of our aircraft fleet in Manchester and more new routes for our network.”
Meanwhile, Jet2.com and Jet2holidays will be offering flights and holidays to Pula and the Istrian Coast in Croatia for summer 2025.
The companies will operate up to two weekly flights (Monday and Friday) to Pula from Manchester Airport from May 2, to September 29, 2025. In addition to flights, customers travelling on a package holiday to Pula with Jet2holidays can choose from 32 hotels in seven resorts – Porec, Rovinj, Umag, Novigrad, Pula, Medulin, Vrsar and Rabac.
The move comes in response to demand for flights and holidays to Croatia, as well as a strong desire from customers and independent travel agents looking to book summer sun in advance and get a date in the diary now.
Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, said: “We are incredibly excited to be adding Pula and the Istrian Coast to our Summer 25 programme from Manchester Airport. We are experiencing strong demand from customers and independent travel agents in the North West for Summer 25, as they make the most of being able to book ahead and get a much-deserved holiday locked in the diary.”
He added: “Croatia is proving to be a popular holiday choice for Summer 25. In response to that, we are putting flights and holidays on sale to this Croatian showstopper and further expanding our biggest Summer Sun programme to date.”
