Europe’s largest low-cost airline Ryanair is introducing its biggest ever Spansh domestic flight schedule starting this July. The airline is also adding three new routes from the United Kingdom to Greece.
Ryanair says that the UK’s success in getting so many of its citizens vaccinated for COVID-19 has given consumers confidence that they will be able to go on holiday. Coupled with this was an announcement just last week by Greek tourism minister Harry Theoharis who said Greece would open its borders to anyone who has been vaccinated, has antibodies, or tests negative for the coronavirus. UK passengers can now book a sunshine getaway to Santorini, Zakynthos, and Preveza from Stansted. On top of these three new routes, Ryanair has added additional flights from Birmingham, East Midlands, Manchester, Southend, and Stansted to Corfu and Rhodes.
When speaking about the airlines’ Greek flights Ryanair’s Director of Commercial, Jason McGuinness, said, “We are delighted to offer even greater choice, more routes and extra flights to Greece for our UK customers this summer. The UK Government’s highly successful vaccination program gives customers the confidence that travel will be possible this summer. UK consumers can now choose from over 20 routes (including three announced today) and 5 extra weekly flights at low fares to some of the most popular summer holiday destinations in Greece.
Mindful that Covid restrictions change regularly, Ryanair is now allowing up to two free flight date changes on all bookings should plans change. Passengers can now book flights for a break, knowing that if they need to postpone or change their travel dates, they can do so with a ‘Zero Change Fee’ until the end of October 2021.
Domestic Spanish flights
Many holidaymakers who visit Spain do not often realize that those of us living here also enjoy the country’s beautiful Mediterranean beaches and love taking a summer holiday around Spain just like everyone else. With the COVID-19 vaccination programme underway, Ryanair expects domestic travel within Spain to soar during the summer.
Starting July 1, 2021, Ryanair will offer Span based passengers more choices than ever before when it comes to business trips or holidaying in Spain. Summer 2021 will see Ryanair offering 800 weekly flights to 21 destinations that include nine new routes:
Alicante – Ibiza 3 x per week
Alicante – Menorca 3 x per week
Mallorca – Zaragoza 3 x per week
Menorca – Seville 3 x per week
Mallorca – Tenerife Norte 2 x per week
Malaga – Menorca 2 x per week
Alicante – Lanzarote 2 x per week
Mallorca – Santander 2 x per week
Fuerteventura – Valencia 1 x per week
Menorca – Valencia 7 x per week
Malaga – Valencia 3 x per week
Mallorca – Valencia 14 x per week
Gran Canaria – Valencia 3 x per week
Seville – Valencia 5 x per week
Malaga – Santiago 6 x per week
Ibiza – Seville 5 x per week
Lanzarote – Seville 3 x per week
Expected surge in domestic travel
When speaking about Ryanair’s increase in domestic Spanish flights, McGuinness said:
“As Spain’s leading airline, we are delighted to offer even greater choice for our Spanish customers this summer, with nine more domestic routes launched today. We are thrilled to continue delivering growth to the regions and promoting connectivity between Spain’s mainland and the Canary and Balearic Islands, despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
McGuinness added that vaccination programs are due to accelerate in the coming months. So, with pent-up domestic and international demand likely to grow this summer, the airline is confident new routes to Spain’s most popular leisure locations will attract strong interest from its Spanish passengers.