The new base will open in the spring and will become easyJet’s 11th in the UK. It follows the launch of its Birmingham base in March 2024 and Southend base in March 2025.
The airline said the new base would help it "further grow its share of the UK leisure market and drive easyJet holidays’ rapid growth".
The announcement coincided with the release on Thursday (22 May) of easyJet and easyJet holidays’ financials for the first half of its 2024/25 financial year (six months to 31 March 2025), in which the group revealed easyJet holidays was "on track" to achieve its £250 million medium-term profit target ahead of schedule.
EasyJet holidays H1 profit increased by £13 million year-on-year to £44 million, driven by customer growth of a quarter which, if sustained for the rest of the year, easyJet believes will grow easyJet holidays’ UK market share to nearly 10%.
EasyJet currently serves eight beach, city and domestic destinations from Newcastle, including Alicante, Malaga and Palma, serving an "extensive catchment area" across the north of England and southern Scotland.
It said its decision to base aircraft at Newcastle from March 2026 would create around 130 direct pilot, crew and engineering roles, and support around 1,200 UK jobs.
Kenton Jarvis, easyJet chief executive, said the plans to launch Newcastle had been driven by demand for its flights and package holidays. "It’s clear holidays are increasing in importance and more than ever are a priority for UK consumers," he said.
Nearly nine in 10 respondents (89%) to an accompanying easyJet survey of 2,000 British consumers, carried out earlier this month, said a holiday was among their most important plans for 2025.
Nearly two-thirds (63%) of respondents said they were more likely to travel abroad this year than they were last year, with 88% prioritising holidays as their main area of spend after bills – up from 77% last year.
More than three-quarters (77%) said they planned to go on either the same number of holidays, or more, than they did last year, with 82% revealing they planned to spend the same amount or increase their spend on holidays in 2025.
The decision comes as a welcome boost for the North East. Newcastle airport chief executive Nick Jones said the investment represented a "significant boost" for the local economy, adding the new base would strengthen the airport’s "long-standing partnership" with easyJet.
Aviation minister Mike Kane added: "This is fantastic news for the North East and Newcastle airport. As one of our important regional airports, not only will it provide good jobs for local people and help boost the economy, it also means families will have more holiday destinations to choose from.
"This is exactly the kind of growth we want to see in the sector, so the UK becomes one of the best places in the world to fly. We will continue to support industry to make this happen."
