easyJet, Europe's leading airline, celebrated the opening of its new base at Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández airport, a step that further strengthens its presence in Spain, where it now has 4 bases. The first flight operated by Alicante based aircraft and crew took off on Sunday 31 March at 6.00 am to Glasgow with Captain Daniel Ankerso in command.

The airline has allocated three aircraft of the A320 family at Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández airport, generating around 100 direct jobs for pilots and crew. The opening of this new seasonal base, which will be operational from March to October, consolidates easyJet's position in Spain, with 19 aircraft based in the country and around 900 people employed on local contracts.

In addition to the economic boost that this announcement means for Alicante, the new base will allow easyJet to explore unserved markets and support existing key traffic flows. easyJet recently announced 10 new connections from Alicante, bringing its route network to 22 destinations and connecting it with key cities in Europe, such as Amsterdam, Geneva, Prague, and Nantes, among others. Since the first route between Alicante and London Stansted in 1999, the airline has carried more than 30 million passengers to/from Alicante and has positioned itself as the 2nd airline in terms of international connections.

All in all, easyJet offers 1.5 million seats (capacity) in Alicante this summer season, an increase of around 10% compared to the same season in 2023.

The Costa Blanca is also in the top 10 favourite destinations of easyJet Holidays customers, significantly contributing to the international tourism in the region and especially from the UK, with Manchester, London and Bristol being the main ports of origin. Bookings for the next summer are encouraging and currently already c. 60% ahead compared to the same period last year.

The base opening was marked by an event attended by high representatives of Aena, easyJet, local and regional authorities, as well as the Alicante business community, represented by the Hotel and Tourism Business Association of the Valencian Community (HOSBEC), the Business Confederation of the Valencian Community (CEV) and the Association of Real Estate Developers of the Province of Alicante (Provia).

easyjet.com