easyJet, Liverpool John Lennon Airports biggest operator has announced the launch of a brand-new route.
Flights to and from the City of Derry in Northern Ireland will return to the North West’s faster, easier, friendlier airport in November 2024.
The route is a brand-new destination to the easyJet network and is the latest in a string of announcements made this month, after the airline and holiday-package operator launched 5 new routes from LJLA for this winter, only two weeks ago.
This isn’t the first-time that a route to Derry has been operated from LJLA though, it was initially operated by Ryanair until 2021 and then taken over by Loganair until January 2024 – when the Scottish airline announced it was dropping the route.
City of Derry Airport lies on the west bank of the River Foyle and is home to Ireland’s only completely intact and historic Walled City. It also boasts a vibrant food scene, award-winning museums, is home to the TV show Derry Girls and its where the Wild Atlantic Way meets the Causeway Coastal Route – plenty for explorers, foodies to do.
Commenting on the launch Ali Gayward, easyJet’s UK Country Manager, said:
‘’We are delighted to be announcing a new route from Liverpool to City of Derry Airport, a brand new destination for easyJet, which will appeal to leisure and business customers alike.
‘’This new and exciting destination in our network provides our customers from across the North West with even greater choice and connectivity this year all with great value fares and friendly service, and we look forward to welcoming them onboard.’’
Paul Winfield, Aviation Director for LJLA said:
‘’We are delighted to announce another new easyJet route, this time to City of Derry, providing us with another popular link to Northern Ireland.
‘’With more than one million passengers flying between Liverpool to Derry over the past few years, we are confident that easyJet will be a successful partner on the route and look forward to reconnecting both cities.”
The first flight is due to take-off on Monday 4th November and will operate on Monday’s and Friday’s each week.
Brenda Morgan MBE, Head of Business Development at City of Derry Airport said:
‘’Services to Liverpool have been in demand from both corporate and leisure travellers in the North West.
‘’The flight schedule for Monday’s and Friday’s provides fantastic timings for business travel and during the week and weekend breaks for the leisure market.’’
Departure times, prices as well as other information can be found by booking directly on the easyJet website here or via their mobile app.
easyJet now have up to 32 destinations on sale across Europe from the Speke-based airport and currently base 7 planes at the airport.
After weeks of online rumours, it has been officially confirmed that Leeds headquartered, Jet2.com & sister operator Jet2holidays will be launching a brand new base from Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
The brand new base is a major expansion for the Speke-based airport and will launch on 28th March 2024 – just in time for the Easter break.
Four based 737-800 aircraft will operate to 20 sunshine destinations, including 7 exclusive routes never before flown from Liverpool – which are listed at the bottom.
Up to 200 new jobs will be created including pilots, cabin crew and ground staff and anyone interested can apply here: https://jet2careers.com
54 flights will operate on a weekly basis representing 565,000 seats on offer to destinations including; Alicante on mainlands Spain, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Tenerife in the Canary Islands; Ibiza, Majorca and Menorca in the Balearic Islands; Faro and Madeira in Portugal; Corfu, Crete, Kos, Rhodes and Zante in Greece; Paphos in Cyprus; Antalya, Dalaman and Bodrum in Turkey; and Bourgas in Bulgaria.
Speaking today chief executive of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays Steve Heapy said: “We are absolutely delighted to be expanding our award-winning flights and holidays to Liverpool John Lennon Airport, which becomes our 11th UK airport base.
“This announcement further expands our footprint and comes on the back of the enormous demand that we know is out there from customers and independent travel agents across Liverpool, Merseyside and the wider region.”
He added: “We have seen that demand really ramp up over the past couple of years, so we know there will be a fantastic response to this launch.
“We have seen time and time again how popular our product is when we bring it to new customers, and we look forward to showcasing our VIP customer service to holidaymakers from Liverpool John Lennon Airport and delighting them with our product.”
Heapy continued: “The announcement of our 11th UK airport reflects our long-term strategy to continue growing responsibly to become the UK’s leading and best leisure travel business. It also means significant investment in the region, with four based aircraft coming into operation and the creation of over 200 new jobs.
“Between now and Summer 24, our focus is on ensuring everything is ready to launch operations, so that from day one we can provide customers from Liverpool John Lennon Airport the same award-winning service which has delighted millions of other customers from across the UK for so many years.”
John Irving, chief executive of Liverpool John Lennon Airport, said: “This is a great day for the airport and for the region’s holidaymakers.
“For the first time travellers from across the Liverpool City Region and beyond will have the opportunity to book package holidays with the UK’s leading package holiday provider, direct from Liverpool John Lennon Airport – the airport of choice for travellers from across the north west and north Wales, bringing together the current Which? Travel Brand of the Year with the current Which? Best UK Airport.”
He added: “It’s also great to have seven new routes available that we know will be popular with holidaymakers and for our local independent travel agents to be able to sell, with customers taking advantage of all the convenience and hassle-free benefits of flying from Liverpool.”
The airline and holiday package provider has consistently been voted the Which? Travel Brand of the Year, Which? Recommended Provider and Tripadvisor’s Best Airline – UK and Top 10 Airlines of the World.
The launch of the new Liverpool base will represent the companies 11th UK base and shows a significant investment and vote of confidence in the recovery of Liverpool John Lennon Airport since the Covid-19 pandemic.
After weeks of rumours, it has been officially announced today that Aer Lingus will be returning to Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
The airline has been absent from the airport since withdrawing their Dublin service way back in January 2016.
Emerald Airlines, under the guise of Aer Lingus Regional, will begin operations on their new Liverpool to Dublin route from April 27th 2023.
The route will operate 11 flights per week with a double daily service on a Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday and will allow passengers to transfer to onwards US flights from Dublin Airport.
The timetable is as follows and was posted by SeanM1997 on Twitter…
Credit to @SeanM1997 on Twitter.
Aer Lingus Regional will join Ryanair on the route increasing daily departures to 5 per day (on some days) and Head of Communications at Emerald Airlines, Ciaran Smith said: ‘’Todays announcement is a much-anticipated one and will no doubt be warmly welcomed by passengers travelling for both business and travel pleasure purposes. The new Liverpool-Dublin service will provide those planning a trip with more choice and convenient flight times to suit their schedule.
‘’We believe that we can offer the region both great value flights to Dublin but also access to one of the fastest growing transatlantic gateways in Europe.’’
Aer Lingus are the latest airline to launch new routes out of Liverpool, following PLAY Airlines in October 2022 and Lufthansa in May 2022.
Exciting times ahead for Liverpool John Lennon Airport!
Liam F - Journalist 