Spanish low-cost airline Vueling will be launching its direct flight to Barcelona on 20 June, offering two flights a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, to Spain’s second largest city until 12 September.
Meanwhile Air Nostrum, which belongs to the Iberia Group, will, between 1 June and 30 September be operating thrice-weekly one hour and 15 minutes flights between Faro and the Spanish capital Madrid.
Air Nostrum first operated a route between the Spanish capital and the Algarve from 2004 to 2006 and will use CRJ Bombardier aircraft for this summer’s route, alternating between larger planes in the months of June, July and September, and smaller 90-seater aircraft in the peak of summer, from mid-July to the end of August.
A statement from Air Nostrum said flights would start from €55 one way and “As Faro is 66 kilometres from the beaches of Ayamonte, the airport can also be used as a point of connection for those looking to go to the Costa de la Luz.”
Desidério Silva, head of the RTA Algarve Tourism Board, said the simultaneous opening of the two new routes raises his expectations with regards to how the Spanish market will perform in the Algarve this year.
“It is excellent news that the region aspired to for almost a decade, and is also the result of the intense work that the Tourism Board has undertaken to ensure direct flights between Faro and Iberia’s main airports”, he elaborated.
The tourism chief added: “We finished 2014 with a growth of 25.5 percent in overnight stays by Spanish tourists in this region, which was a remarkable growth, and in 2015, with these two new routes, we could even break the one million overnight stays barrier.”
According to Mr. Silva the flights are a “first step” towards the consolidation of both routes and the future expansion of operations throughout the whole year.
In related news, last week seats started being sold for flights with the Exeter-based British low-cost regional Flybe, between Faro and Cardiff, after the airline opened a new base at Cardiff Airport.
The airline will serve 11 destinations in the UK and Europe this summer and base two of its existing Embraer E195 aircraft in the Welsh capital.
As well as Faro. Flybe now offers flights to a number of European cities from Cardiff, including Düsseldorf, Munich, Milan and Paris.
Algarve closer to Spain with new flights from Faro
in Algarve · 12 Mar 2015, 14:31 · 0 Comments