Bournemouth will become the airline and operator’s 12th UK base. Jet2 said the move came in response to “years of demand” from customers and agents in the south of England, with a catchment that encompasses Southampton and Portsmouth.
In its first summer of operations, Jet2 will offer up to 27 weekly flights from Bournemouth.
More: Jet2 CEO hints 12th UK base could be firm’s last
Destinations include Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Alicante, Palma, Ibiza, Menorca, Antalya, Dalaman, Faro, Crete (Heraklion), Rhodes, Zante and Corfu, plus Madeira and Fuerteventura – both of which are exclusive to Jet2 at Bournemouth.
The first 1,000 Bournemouth bookings will receive free fast-track service through security at Bournemouth.
Jet2 will base two aircraft at Bournemouth, with its inaugural flight from the airport scheduled to depart for Tenerife on 1 April 2025.
Jet2 will go up against Ryanair, which offers 20 destinations from Bournemouth, eight of them to Spain. Tui also bases two aircraft there, serving 13 destinations, while easyJet has a service from Geneva.
News of the UK’s largest Atol holder’s latest plans to expand comes just days before Jet2.com and Jet2holidays start operations from what will be its 11th base, Liverpool John Lennon airport.
Steve Heapy, Jet2.com and Jet2holidays chief executive, said: “We know customers and independent travel agents have been asking us for a long time to make this move, so we are absolutely delighted to be announcing today that Bournemouth airport will become our 12th UK base airport.
He added: “This latest expansion is a further demonstration of our confidence, and it reflects our long-term strategy to be the UK’s leading and best leisure travel business.
"We know customers want to be properly looked after throughout their holiday experience, and we are making a significant investment in the region including the creation of over 100 new jobs to do exactly that.”
Andrew Bell, chief executive of Regional and City Airports, which owns Bournemouth, Exeter and Norwich airports, hailed the deal “fantastic news”.
“It will create new employment locally, add 16 fabulous new destinations from Bournemouth, up to 27 extra flights a week and will see an estimated additional 300,000 passengers using their local airport," he said.
