The airline is opening a new base at a UK airport, which will see it more than double the number of destinations it flies to from the region, including Antalya and Dalaman in Turkey
British holidaymakers will soon be able to jet off to 11 more destinations with easyJet.
The budget airline is introducing 11 fresh routes for summer 2026, more than doubling the number of locations it serves from the region. The development forms part of plans to establish a new base at Newcastle Airport, which is anticipated to create approximately 1,200 jobs, including 130 direct positions.
The carrier currently runs eight routes from the North East, including services to Alicante, Amsterdam, Geneva, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, Paris, Bristol and Belfast. However, from March 2026, travellers will have the opportunity to jet off to additional locations across Europe and North Africa, reports the Express. The new Newcastle Airport base will be served by three aircraft.
READ MORE: Tiny town only has one resident who’s her own mayor, pub landlord and librarianREAD MORE: Holidaymaker sends goodbye texts to family after getting trapped on FlixBus
Leon McQuaid, the director of aviation development at the airport, said: “The announcement that easyJet has put flights on sale to 11 additional destinations for summer 2026, including a brand-new direct service to Nice, is fantastic news for our passengers.
“The hundreds of thousands of low-cost seats, alongside the thousands of package holidays already on sale, provide our passengers with even more choice and great value when planning their summer getaways.”
The new routes are:
- Antalya and Dalaman in Turkey
- Rhodes and Corfu in Greece
- Faro in Portugal, Malta
- Prague in Czechia
- Reus in Spain
- Nice in France
- Sharm-El-Sheikh in Egypt
- Enfidha in Tunisia
EasyJet’s route to Antalya is set to commence on 29 March, with flights scheduled twice a week on Wednesdays and Sundays. The airline will also launch flights to Nice, Enfidha, and Faro on the same day, operating three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays.
Flights to Malta are due to start on 30 March, flying on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, while services to Dalaman and Reus will kick off on 31 March, running on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
Flights to Corfu are slated to take off from 3 April, operating on Mondays and Fridays.
Later in the summer, Prague will be added to the network from 2 August with flights on Thursdays and Sundays, and Sharm El Sheikh from 3 August, running on Mondays and Fridays.
Kevin Doyle, the UK country manager at easyJet, said: “We’re delighted to be putting 11 new routes on sale from Newcastle for next summer as we gear up to the opening of our new base, which is enabling us to provide greater direct connectivity and choice for customers in the North East to even more destinations across Europe and North Africa, all with great value fares and fantastic service.”
The easyJet news comes after Ryanair announced plans to reduce its capacity by 41% in the Spanish regions and by 10% in the Canary Islands this winter. Eddie Wilson, CEO of Ryanair, warned that this would lead to a “a loss of investment, connectivity, tourism, and employment in regional Spain, as many routes will be economically unviable.”