Travel

Daily flights from Southend to Faro will start 5th April

With expansion at London's largest airports out of bounds but demand for flights increasing, regional airports are clamouring to market themselves as alternatives. Southend is the latest, last month announcing a ten-year deal with EasyJet to offer cheap flights to Europe.

The runway is being extended to accommodate holiday jets and, from April next year, they will be flying to destinations such as Ibiza, Barcelona and Faro.

However, EasyJet says it is moving some routes from Stansted to Southend, claiming that it will fly 800,000 passengers through the new terminal next year. It’s unclear as yet of there will be less flights from Stansted to Faro.

With Stansted’s location right next to the M11, that would be a sad move for many passengers heading North. There will be a daily flight to faro, with some very competitive rates. The flight leaves Southend in the afternoon, and leaves Faro in the morning.

With Easy Jets new FLEXI fare you get hold luggage included in the price as well as Speedy Boarding, unlimited date changes and no 'extra payment fees'.
 

Architects drawings of the completed expansion to Faro Airport

 

The above artists impressions of the development of Faro Airport come from drawings of the Architects who have won the contact for the design of the extensions to the airport. Construction has already begun, but with these images you can get a better idea of what is happening. In our opinion, looking at the above, its well worth waiting for.  Congratulations to ANA the Faro airport operators for undertaking such a major leap forward into creating a stunning new international standard airport for the Algarve. Amongst other projects, these London based international architects are responsible for the design of London's award winning St Pancras International, London, UK

ANA to spend another €30 million on improving Lisbon airport
The Development Plan will see a total investment of €30 million, with €6 million being granted by the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). While the airport handled more than five million passengers in 2010, the project will allow for a significant increase in the passenger processing capacity, as well as an increase in service quality thanks to the addition of new boarding gates and rapid runway exits. The investment will also allow the airport to reach 100% safety compliance with ICAO Annex 14. All airports in the ANA group are currently Airport Carbon Accredited and ANA’s dedication to environmental efficiency is also evident in each of the development projects and this commitment was recently recognised by the ‘Most Efficient Company’ award at the first Energy Efficiency Awards in Portugal. The PremiValor Consulting initiative was supported by energy agency ADENE and the Directorate General for Energy and Geology (DGEG), and the study covered the 2,500 largest companies in the country

TAP Lisbon to Miami now operating
Portugal’s national airline TAP have launched a new route with five weekly flights from Lisbon Airport to Miami in the US state of Florida. According to a statement from TAP, the destination is growing in popularity with the Portuguese and will provide another entrance into Europe for people in America, which will benefit tourism. When we looked at flight availability there seemed to be a daily flight offered, prices start at around €1,000 return and can be substantially more. Its not the cheapest way to fly to Miami, but certainly the easiest route from Portugal as you don't need to change flights in London.

BA now flying 4 (or perhaps 3) times a week to Faro from London City
British Airways is growing its network from the London Royal Docks site with direct services to Faro, which will be four flights a week, summer and winter. Flights will be operated by BA CityFlyer. The Faro flights will be operated by 98-seat Embraer 190. Although BA Press releases claim there are four flights a week, we could only find flights available on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Prices seem to be around £150 each way, though vary according to demand.

Check here if you need a visa for the UK
Recent changes mean that many more visitors to the UK now need a visa, including South African passport holders (resident in Portugal or not). Check here

Airlines flying to & from Faro - Seat pitch, catering, boarding and bag allowance etc

Airline & Code Destinations from Faro Checked bag allowance (paid) Normal Seat Pitch Pre Assigned seats Extra Legroom seats (fee) Boarding Faro Catering available (paid) Aer Lingus  (AI) Belfast, Cork, Dublin 20 Kilo 32" Yes Yes Bus Hot meal Snacks British Airways (BA) Gatwick 23 Kilo 31" Yes Club Class Bus Sandwiches Snacks bmibaby  (WW) Birmingham, Cardiff, East Midlands 20 Kilo 29" Yes Yes Bus   EasyJet  (EZ) Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, Belfast, Bristol, East Midlands, Glasgow, Liverpool, Newcastle, Paris 20 Kilo 29" On some flights No Speedy Boarding (paid) Air Bridge Sandwiches Snacks FlyGlobespan  (Y2) This airline has gone into liquidation 20 Kilo 30" Yes Yes Bus Sandwiches Snacks Monarch  (ZB) Gatwick, Luton, Birmingham, Manchester 20 Kilo 29" Yes Yes Bus Hot meal Snacks Ryanair  (FR) Stansted, Bournemouth, Brussels, Bremen, Dublin, Düsseldorf, East Midlands, Frankfurt, Glasgow, Liverpool, Shannon 15 Kilo 30" Yes Yes Walk Sandwiches Snacks TAP Air Portugal  (TP) No direct flights from Faro. Via Lisbon most major destinations served   33" Yes Executive Class   Hot or cold meal Thomson  (BY) Bournemouth, Doncaster, Manchester, Gatwick 20 Kilo 29" Yes Yes Bus Sandwiches Snacks Transavia  (HV) Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Eindhoven, Rotterdam 20 Kilo 29" Yes     Hot meal Sandwiches Snacks                 * These are the principle airlines and destinations to and from Faro, but please check the company site for extra information. If you have additional information or corrections to the above, please contact us

 

Live Arrivals & Departures Faro Lisbon Gatwick Stansted Luton Birmingham Manchester Bristol Liverpool Dublin East Midlands Belfast Glasgow

Ground Services Gatwick Express Stansted Express National Express - from Gatwick or Stansted EasyBus - from Luton National Rail First Capital Direct - Trains Gatwick & Luton National Express - Coaches other airports