Jet2.com and Jet2holidays will launch flights and holidays from Luton next year.
Luton airport will become the airline and operator’s 13th base in the UK and Ireland. Flights will take off from 1 April 2025, just a couple of months after it opens its Bournemouth base.
It will base an initial two aircraft at Luton and operate 17 routes to mainland Spain and its islands, Portugal, Greece’s islands, Turkey and Italy.
The move comes despite Jet2 chief executive Steve Heapy telling TTG in March the brand had "no plans for any more bases".
Jet2 on Wednesday (13 November) said its decision to expand to Luton came "in response to strong demand” from customers and agents across the south east, in London, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire.
The operator will put 430,000 seats on sale from Luton and operate up to 36 weekly flights. It said the move to Luton would create 125 new jobs.
Heapy said: “We are very excited to announce London Luton airport as our 13th UK airport base today, further expanding our footprint and bringing our award-winning holidays and flights to even more customers.
"Customers and independent travel agents have been asking us to open at London Luton airport for many years now, so we know how enormously popular this announcement will be."
Jet2’s full initial programme from Luton is as follows.
Mainland Spain
Canary Islands
Balearic Islands
Portugal
Greece
Turkey
Italy
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