easyJet to open Birmingham base early with more flights on sale

• Airline will open its newest UK base at Birmingham International Airport early offering more flights across 29 routes
• Flights on 16 new routes from the base will go on sale on Thursday 30 November at easyJet.com
• Packages with easyJet holidays for new destinations also available to book now for breaks from 18 March 2024 onwards

easyJet, Europe’s leading airline, has announced it will be opening its new three-aircraft Birmingham base early, meaning even more flights will now be available from Birmingham from 18 March 2024. 

The new three-aircraft base has enabled the airline to further expand its Birmingham network with 16 new routes. This means that in addition to 13 key domestic and international services the airline already operates from Birmingham, easyJet will now offer customers in the Midlands flights on 29 routes across the UK, Europe and North Africa that will prove popular with leisure and business travellers flying from the UK’s second largest city.

The airline’s first base opening in the UK in over a decade will create around 100 direct jobs for pilots and crew and over 1,200 more indirect jobs. easyJet is the largest airline in the UK and currently employs around ten thousand people across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. 

easyJet customers from Birmingham and the Midlands now have much more choice when booking their 2024 holidays, with new routes taking off from 18 March 2024.

Flights to Antalya and Barcelona will take off from 18 March 2024 and will operate year-round twice a week and three times a week respectively. New routes to Alicante and Tenerife will start on 19 March and operate twice a week year-round, followed by a new route to Larnaca starting 20 March which will operate twice a week throughout summer as well as Malaga and Enfidha both starting 21 March and operating twice a week year-round.

New flights from Birmingham to Berlin will launch on 1 April and operate twice a week year-round, followed by the airline’s new service to the popular Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh which will operate once a week year-round starting on 2 April.

A new domestic connection to Jersey will also start on 2 April and operate twice a week year-round and on 3 April a new summer route to Heraklion will begin operating once a week.

From 4 April a new route to Dalaman will operate twice a week throughout summer and Fuerteventura which will operate once a week year-round.

Later in the month a brand new route to Rhodes will launch on 23 April and operate once a week throughout summer, followed by a new summer route to Corfu which will start on 1 May and operate twice weekly as well as Kos which will start on 3 May and operate once a week throughout summer.

Thousands of package holidays to easyJet’s brand new destinations are also available to book now at www.easyjet.com/en/holidays for travel from 18 March 2024 onwards. Packages include flights, hotel, 23kg luggage and transfers on beach holidays, all covered by its Ultimate Flexibility, offering freedom to change a booking, a refund guarantee, and best price guarantee.

Flights are available to book from Thursday 30 November at easyJet.com and via the mobile app.

Ali Gayward, UK Country Manager at easyJet, said:

“We are delighted to be opening our Birmingham base early, demonstrating our continued confidence in the region with customers choosing us for our trusted brand, unrivalled network and great value fares.

“Investing in a ninth base in the UK strengthens easyJet’s network by positioning it as the carrier of choice to serve UK consumers and capture demand for travel, further growing our share of the UK leisure market for both the airline and easyJet holidays.

“With flights for 16 new routes on sale from this Thursday, we’re offering our customers in the Midlands even more choice when planning their holidays and we can’t wait to welcome them onboard.”

Tom Screen, aviation director for Birmingham Airport, said:

“Antalya, Barcelona, Berlin, Fuerteventura, Enfidha, Sharm el Sheikh, Rhodes, Dalaman, Jersey, Larnaca, Malaga, Alicante, Tenerife, Corfu, Kos and Heraklion - 16 new destinations easyJet will begin serving in the weeks from March 2024 when they open their three-aircraft base at BHX. 

“To say we’re excited is an understatement. This will bring jobs to the region and greater choice for customers, particularly as easyJet holidays cements its place in the Midlands market with great package deals.”

For further information, please contact the easyJet Press Office on 01582 525252, log onto www.easyJet.com or follow @easyJet_Press

About easyJet

easyJet is Europe’s leading airline offering a unique and winning combination of the best route network connecting Europe’s primary airports, with great value fares and friendly service.

easyJet flies on more of Europe’s most popular routes than any other airline and carried more than 69 million passengers in 2022 – with 9.5 million travelling for business. The airline has over 300 aircraft on nearly 1000 routes to more than 150 airports across 35 countries. Over 300 million Europeans live within one hour’s drive of an easyJet airport.

easyJet aims to be a good corporate citizen, employing people on local contracts in eight countries across Europe in full compliance with national laws and recognising their trade unions. The airline supports several local charities and has a corporate partnership with UNICEF which has raised over £16m for the most vulnerable children since it was established in 2012.

The airline joined the UN-backed Race to Zero in November 2021 and has published its roadmap to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, with a focus on new technology and the ultimate ambition to achieve zero carbon emission flying across its entire fleet, which the airline is working on together with its partners including Airbus, Rolls-Royce, GKN Aerospace, and Cranfield Aerospace Solutions. The roadmap also features a combination of fleet renewal, operational efficiencies, airspace modernisation, Sustainable Aviation Fuel and carbon removal technology. Additionally, it includes an interim carbon emissions intensity reduction target of 35% by 2035 (versus 2019). Since 2000, the airline has already reduced its carbon emissions per passenger, per kilometre by one-third through continued fleet renewal, efficient operations and aiming to fill most of its seats.

Innovation is in easyJet’s DNA – since launching over 25 years ago, easyJet changed the way people fly to the present day where the airline leads the industry in digital, web, engineering and operational innovation.

About easyJet holidays

easyJet holidays is the UK’s fastest growing tour operator, having carried 1.3 million people in first fully operational year and named Rising Brand of the Year by Travolution. It offers great-value beach, city and lakes holidays to over 5000 hotels, in more than 100 destinations across Europe, directly through its website and through over 5000 travel agent partners. The ATOL-protected holidays can be secured with a deposit of just £60 per person, including flights, hotel, 23kg luggage and transfers on beach holidays. easyJet holidays is a member of ABTA, and all packages are covered by its Ultimate Flexibility, offering freedom to change a booking, a refund guarantee, and best price guarantee.

Winners of the Sustainable Future Award at the Globe Travel Awards 2022, easyJet holidays has a sustainability strategy focusing on three key pillars – create better holiday choices which is about making sustainable travel affordable and accessible to everyone; keep our holidays special which is maximising the benefits and minimising the negative impacts of travel and tourism, and transform travel for everyone which means embedding sustainability into business decisions and behaviours and driving meaningful change in the industry. Through ongoing collaboration with the University of Oxford, and as a member of the GSTC, easyJet holidays is focused on building its research, partnerships and certifications, and taking action to make a positive impact on the people and places that make its destinations so special.

easyJet holidays has been named one of the Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2023 – being called out as one of the most loved employers and highly commended as a great place to work for LGBTQIA+ employees, as well as being named one of the Best Workplaces in Travel 2022.