easyJet to open new seasonal base at Alicante-Elche airport
The base will be operational on the Costa Blanca from spring 2024 creating 100 jobs
Low-cost carrier easyJet has announced further expansion plans in line with its sustained growth in Spain with a new seasonal base at Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández airport.
Operational from spring 2024, this will be the airline's fourth base in Spain and 30th on its European network. The new base will create around 100 direct jobs for pilots and crew as well as other indirect local jobs.
The new seasonal base will have three A320 aircraft based at the Costa Blanca terminal, each with a capacity to carry 186 passengers, which will allow the airline to offer 1.62 million seats in its first operational summer next year.
This represents 16% growth compared to the current 2023 summer season, when easyJet will fly 1.4 million seats across 11 routes to key destinations such as Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Geneva and Basel, among others.
Javier Gándara, easyJet's Country Director for Southern Europe, said: "We are proud to announce another new seasonal base in Spain, a strategically important market where we continue to grow, boost tourism and create jobs.
"Alicante is a very attractive destination and we believe that having a base offers great potential to expand our operations in the country, as well as allowing us to improve connectivity to and from the region.
"With this base we can bring the residents of Alicante closer to European cities of reference and, in turn, we strengthen Alicante’s position on the international tourism map."
Between 2015 and 2019, easyJet's capacity of routes to/from Alicante grew by 6%, "so we see great potential to expand our operations in the country," added Gándara.
Alicante joins the airline's seasonal bases in Palma de Mallorca (2017) and Malaga (2021) and Faro (2021), all strategic summer destinations for the airline and amongst the most popular on easyJet's network.
Since easyJet started operating from Alicante in 1999 with a first route linking the port city with London Stansted, the airline has carried 27.5 million passengers to and from Alicante and is the 2nd largest international airline at the airport.
Travel industry experts have predicted a bumper summer season on the Costa Blanca this year with high expectations of exceeding pre-pandemic tourism figures.
However, based on current data, British tourism is lagging and is unlikely to reach the dizzy heights of 2019.
Around two million Brits will pass through Alicante-Elche Airport this summer – at least that's the number of airline seats currently on offer from the UK – 9% fewer than four years ago prior to the Covid health crisis and travel restrictions.
Now read: All the summer 2023 flight destinations at Alicante airport
Image: easyJet
