• Today easyJet has officially inaugurated its new base in Portugal, creating more than 100 jobs in the Algarve region

  • Three aircraft from the A320 family will now be based at Faro International Airport

  • The carrier will connect Faro with major European cities on 21 routes across Europe 

easyJet today officially opened its seasonal base at Faro International Airport. Operating since 1 June, this is the airline’s third operating base in Portugal, added to those in Lisbon, operating since 2012, and Porto, since 2015.

The launch event was attended by Johan Lundgren, CEO of easyJet, Pedro Siza Vieira, Minister of State for Economy and Digital Transition, Pedro Nuno Santos, Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Nicolas Notebaert, the CEO of VINCI Airports, Rita Marques, the State Secretary for Tourism and Hugo Santos Mendes, the Assistant Secretary of State and Communications.

This seasonal base will operate between March and October, with three aircraft allocated, operating on 21 routes to and from Faro. The routes connect Faro with various European cities such as Amsterdam, Basel, Belfast, Berlin Brandenburg, Bordeaux, Bristol, Geneva, Glasgow, Liverpool, London Gatwick, London Luton, Lyon, Manchester, Milan MXP, Paris CDG, and Paris Orly. Alongside the existing routes five new routes to Luxembourg, Munich, Lille, Toulouse, and Zurich are being launched.

Over the past 22 years, easyJet has carried more than 20 million passengers to and from the Algarve, making a significant contribution to the region's economy and its promotion as an international tourist destination. By opening the new base, the airline has also contributed to the region's employment levels, creating over 100 new direct jobs under Portuguese contracts.

 

 

 

From the base opening in Faro, Johan Lundgren, CEO of easyJet, commented:

"We are really pleased to be officially opening our base at Faro airport today. Despite the challenges that the aviation and tourism sectors are experiencing as a result of the pandemic, this new opening demonstrates easyJet's commitment to Portugal as an airline that contributes to the sustainable growth of the country and the rest of the European network.

"We are in the process of recovery, and opening this seasonal base allows us to respond positively to the resilient and growing demand that is expected across Europe over the summer months. We want to continue to contribute to the local economy and are pleased to have been able to create more than 100 jobs at this new base and look forward to welcoming more customers to the Algarve this summer and beyond.

 

In addition to the opening of the new base in Faro, easyJet has also inaugurated a new seasonal base in Málaga, Spain recently. These openings contribute to easyJet's positioning as preferred European option to travel to these sought-after destinations, while also allowing it to meet peak demand with seasonal capacity. The new aircraft will enable easyJet to strengthen existing markets, as well as explore new flows in the future, which were not previously accessible. Additionally, the company is increasing its commitment to leisure and through easyJet Holidays, unlocking new markets that can be served from Faro and Málaga.

To book flights or for more information, visit www.easyJet.com

 

 

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For further information, contact:

Matteo Finotto

+39 392 977 3901

Matteo.Finotto@easyJet.com

 

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 96 million passengers in 2019 – more than 16 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 a number of local charities and also has a corporate partnership with UNICEF which has raised over £14m for the most vulnerable children since it was established in 2012.

 

The airline takes sustainability seriously and is the first major airline to operate carbon neutral flights across its whole network. The airline is achieving this goal by offsetting the carbon emissions from the fuel used for all of its flights. The airline sees this as an interim measure until new technology becomes available to de-carbonise aviation. In the meantime, easyJet will continue to support innovative technology, operate efficiently and aim to fill most of its seats. Since 2000, we have improved our carbon emission per passenger kilometre efficiency by over one third and we have a target to reach a 38% reduction by 2022.

 

Innovation is in easyJet's DNA – from our launch over 25 years ago when we changed the way people fly to the present day where we lead the industry in digital, web, engineering and operational innovations to make travel more easy and affordable for our passengers.

 

The airline was named as Britain's Most Admired Company of 2020 in the transport sector, retaining the leading position for a second year running. Britain's Most Admired Companies study is the longest-running annual survey of corporate reputation in the UK.