New holiday flights from Aberdeen to Spain, Greece

LEADING holiday operators Thomson and First Choice today announced plans to more than double their capacity from Aberdeen International Airport and to introduce a new Greek route from the north east’s main airline hub.

A Thomson plane above Glasgow airport - more of the aircraft will be seen over Aberdeen soon. Picture: Robert Perry

The new flights will be introduced for next summer and will introduce new routes from the north east to Corfu and Dalaman, as well as the addition of further weekly flights to the Balearics. A new Sunday departure is to be introduced on the Majorca route, and Ibiza flights will be extended to run for the entire summer season.

A spokesman for the holiday companies said: “The move to introduce these routes is part of the UK’s largest tour operator’s strategy to ensure customers across the UK can fly from their local airport and stay at the best hotels in some of the most exciting destinations.

“Not only will customers from Aberdeen be able to fly to some fantastic destinations, but they will also have the opportunity to choose varying durations - not just the standard seven and 14 night stays.

“The introduction of the flight to Corfu means Thomson and First Choice will be the first tour operator to offer a flight to Greece from the airport, as well as the only tour operator operating this route in summer 2014.”

Paul Cooper, the airport negotiations manager for Thomson and First Choice, said: “Adding additional capacity from Aberdeen and the introduction of a Greek route for the first time demonstrates our commitment to Aberdeen International Airport and the local area, and following the success of similar routes across a number of regional airports, we know that the demand is there.

Nick Barton, the managing director of Aberdeen International Airport, welcomed the extra capacity. He said: “This is great news for the airport and for local holiday-makers who wish to make the most of opportunities available on their doorstep.”