Budget airline, EasyJet, announced yesterday that it will place a new plane at Faro airport for the summer of 2022, creating around 30 direct jobs in the Algarve, in addition to two planes in Malaga and two in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
According to easyJet, this investment creates around 150 direct jobs for pilots and crew under local contracts in Portugal and Spain.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, EasyJet has continued to invest in Portugal, where it opened a new base in Faro in June 2021 and increased the global Portuguese fleet by 60%”, says the airline.
“This movement represents an increase of the EasyJet fleet by 70% at the bases in Portugal and Spain, compared to the pre-pandemic period, and in Portugal, in particular, it represents an increase of more than 60% since 2019, with a new aircraft at the base in Porto – since the summer of 2020 – and four new planes in Faro, since the opening of this base in June 2021”.
Next summer, Faro will therefore have four planes, bringing the Portuguese fleet to 13 planes, including five at the base in Lisbon and four in Porto.
“This investment will create around 150 direct jobs in Portugal and Spain. In Portugal alone, EasyJet currently employs more than 425 people, all under local contracts and negotiated with Portuguese industrial unions”, stressed the airline.
José Lopes, EasyJet Country Manager for Portugal, says he is very pleased to be able to announce this investment in the Portuguese market.
“Although the entire industry is still experiencing a challenging environment, this confirms easyJet's commitment to Portugal and to the sustainable growth of the country and its European network. We are constantly evaluating new opportunities and given the success of our new seasonal base in Portugal, adding more capacity to these destinations is a logical step”, said Lopes.
José Lopes also welcomed the fact that the new investment created around 30 new direct jobs.
“We are proud to be one of the strongest airlines in Portugal, with almost 7.2 million passengers transported to and from the country during the pre-pandemic and more than 20 million passengers to and from Faro since 1999, when EasyJet started operations in the Algarve”, he said.
Original article available in Portuguese at http://postal.pt/
