Flights will operate every Tuesday from 27 May 2025 through to 20 September 2025 serving Tui-owned Marella Cruises’ summer programme in the Mediterranean out of Palma. There, Marella Discovery will sail a variety of round-trip voyages taking in destinations in Italy, France and mainland Spain.

Tui’s return to Southampton comes after British Airways late last month confirmed it would not operate a summer 2025 programme from the South Coast airport, resulting in the cancellation of hundreds of flights.

In addition, Jet2.com and Jet2holidays will begin operations at nearby Bournemouth early next year, offering 27 weekly flights to destinations such as Tenerife, Majorca, Crete and Madeira. Bournemouth will become the airline and operator’s 12th UK base.

Karen Switzer, Tui Airways’ aviation planning director, said: "We understand how important it is for customers to have access to flights from their local airports, and this latest addition brings the number of regional airports that Tui Airways fly from to 24."

Chris Tibbett, aero director at Southampton airport parent AGS Airports, added: "With Tui’s return after 15 years, holidaymakers now have the chance to experience the full Tui journey from start to finish.

"This is an incredible milestone for our airport and signals a future filled with growth, as we continue to expand and enhance travel options for our passengers to every corner of Europe."

Southampton airport was among the hardest hit by the Covid crisis and the collapse of Flybe. The airport shut at weekends in early 2021 after passenger numbers fell by more than 90%.

It was granted permission in April 2021 to extend its runway to allow larger aircraft, the likes flown by the UK’s main budget carriers, to operate there with full passenger payloads. The airport argued its future was unviable without the extension.