Budget airline EasyJet have announced they will create two new 'seasonal bases', situated in Faro and in Malaga, in time for next summer. Mainland Portugal and Spain remain off the UK government’s air bridge list due to Covid-19 case increases, but the budget airline plans to 'base' three aircraft at each airport, which will create around 200 pilot and cabin crew jobs.
The addition of Malaga and Faro means easyJet will operate from 28 bases across its network, with three in Spain - Malaga, Barcelona and Palma, and three in Portugal - Faro, Lisbon and Portugal. Easyjet flew more than 8 million passengers to and from Portugal and 18.5 million for Spain last year.
The new bases, to be operational from next spring until the end of October 2021, will allow Easyjet to better respond to higher customer demand over the summer. The announcement comes as the the airline forecast losses of up to £845 million for the year to September.
EasyJet group markets director Thomas Haagensen said: “Despite the difficult environment that the whole industry is navigating through, this move confirms our commitment to these two popular destinations and will enable us to better serve our customers by optimising our schedule over the summer season as well as making a positive economic contribution to each region.”
