easyJet fly in to announce new flights taking off from Doncaster Sheffield Airport

Senior representatives from Airport owners Peel Airports, Airport management and tourism officials from Welcome to Yorkshire, were joined by easyJet to make the announcement, who brought in one of their new Airbus A319 aircraft to the Airport, especially for the occasion. Even Santa made a guest appearance bringing presents in the shape of new services from the Airport for next year.

easyJet will operate some 21 departures per week from the South Yorkshire Airport and expects to carry around 300,000 on the five routes in their first year of operation, making it the largest low-fares airline to operate from the Airport. The services to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Faro, Palma and Prague, will bring mix of City break opportunities and sunshine destinations.

Flights will commence from 19th April 2010, with fares starting from £24.99 (including taxes and charges) and can be booked now via the airline's website www.easyjet.com.

Mark Whitworth, CEO of Peel Airports commented, "This is magnificent news for the region and a further milestone in this Airport's short history. easyJet's commitment is a real sign of their confidence in this Airport and our region going forward. Peel have similarly committed to the business through significant investment here in order to establish the Airport in such a short space of time and that investment is paying dividends today with this tremendous announcement. Today's news means that Doncaster Sheffield Airport, with the longest runway in Yorkshire, confirms it will be experiencing double-digit growth in 2010."
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Paul Simmons, UK Regional General Manager, for easyJet added,
"By operating services from Doncaster Sheffield Airport, easyJet can now tap in to the attractive Yorkshire catchment area and major conurbations such as Sheffield, Doncaster, Barnsley Rotherham, Hull, Worksop and Wakefield. With over 40 flights in/out per week, the equivalent of a based aircraft, our choice of destinations is expected to attract both the business and leisure travellers.

In addition, we are looking to develop the inbound market, highlighting Yorkshire as a destination to Europeans, helping to bring even greater investment to the local economy."

"easyJet is committed to expansion across the UK regions; we are now not only the largest UK airline, but also the largest airline in the North of England, providing greater access to our famously low fares and convenient services from your local airport."

A real partnership approach by working closely with Welcome to Yorkshire and other agencies across Yorkshire, has also been a factor in this decision and easyJet's arrival at the Airport further establishes the Airport's importance to Yorkshire and the North Midlands.

Gary Verity, Chief Executive of the region's tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire, said: "This is great news for Yorkshire and great news for Doncaster Sheffield Airport. easyJet is a leading European airline and today's announcement means more tourists can now fly direct to Yorkshire on one of its planes over a thousand times a year! We will be working hard to promote Yorkshire in those countries and to encourage more international visitors to come and stay in our wonderful county"

Neil Pakey, Deputy CEO of Peel Airports added, "There is a clear message in this that local people want to fly from their local airport and not have to trek to Heathrow or across the Pennines in needless car or train journeys. Regional airports are vital to the economic prosperity of city regions and we welcome easyJet's massive multi-million pound investment into Doncaster and the Sheffield City Region and to the wider Yorkshire, North Notts, North Lincolnshire and North Derbyshire regions."

Mike Morton, the Airport Director added, "Having established the airport as the starting point for many holiday flights, we now look forward to welcoming a world leading low cost airline. There is a genuine sense of excitement and anticipation about the place and I would also like to be the first to congratulate all those who helped secure this investment into our region."

The details of the new routes are as follows:

ROUTE START DATE FREQUENCY FARES (single/return)
Amsterdam 19 April Daily £24.99/ £52.98
Barcelona 19 April Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun £24.99/ £47.81
Faro 19 April Mon, Wed, Thu, Sat £26.99/ £51.98
Palma (Majorca) 20 April Tue, Thu, Sat £26.99/ £52.81
Prague 20 April Tue, Fri, Sun £26.99/ £48.98