Greece, India, Egypt - which one tickles your fancy for next summer?
Thankfully, Birmingham Airport is giving you the choice of all three - along with a string of other destinations, too.
Birmingham Airport has launched a variety of new routes for the new year.
The next 12 months will give you the chance to book flights to Santorini, Sharm-El-Sheikh, Goa, The Gambia and beyond.
In Europe, there is a chance to book flights to the likes of Poznan and Krakow, in Poland, as well as Innsbruck, Vienna and more.
There are even shorter haul flights with easyJet, offering you the opportunity to jet north of the border to Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Santorini
Jet2.com and Jet2holidays have added stunning Santorini as a new destination from Birmingham Airport.
It means three brand new Greek destinations are available from summer 2020 at Birmingham.
As demand for award-winning flights and holidays to Greece continues, the leading leisure airline and package holiday specialist has announced it will operate a weekly Tuesday service from Birmingham to the island of Santorini in Summer 20.
This will run from May 5 until October 27, with almost 10,000 plane seats on sale in total.
Skiathos and Preveza
This latest announcement means that Jet2.com and Jet2holidays will launch three brand new Greek destinations from Birmingham Airport in Summer 20 – Santorini, Skiathos and Preveza.
In total the UK’s third largest airline and second largest tour operator will operate to 11 Greek destinations in Summer 20 - with Corfu, Crete (Heraklion), Crete (Chania), Kefalonia, Kos, Rhodes, Halkidiki and Zante also on sale from Birmingham Airport.
With multiple weekly flights to many of these Greek destinations, it means holidaymakers can enjoy flexibility over the length of their holidays.
Birmingham Airport
Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays said: "Local holidaymakers have been asking for us to operate our award-winning flights and holidays to Santorini, and we have responded with this fantastic programme.
"Santorini is famous for its beauty and scenery, and we are absolutely delighted to be launching flights and holidays to such a popular and stunning destination.
"Today’s announcement expands our Greek portfolio from Birmingham Airport once more, further strengthening our brilliant Summer 20 programme."
The Gambia
TUI has announced its winter 2020 programme with the addition of new destination The Gambia and the reintroduction of holidays to Sharm El Sheikh.
The new direct flights to The Gambia from Birmingham are now on sale with weekly flights operating on a Thursday with the first flight departing on 5 November 2020.
Birmingham Airport
Eight hotels in The Gambia are now on sale, in beach resorts including Kotu and Kololi. The Gambia is a holiday location popular with sun seekers looking to escape the winter blues and relax peacefully on the beach. This beautiful African destination has everything you would expect of a tropical paradise with miles and miles of un-crowded sands and warm clear seas.
It isn’t just for relaxing however, as The Gambia is very popular amongst those who like to explore and take in the local culture on their trip abroad. There is tonnes of history to absorb and the wildlife is out of this world, with monkeys, crocodiles and hundreds of species of birds on the doorstep. A chimpanzee rehab project is easy to reach by boat and Gambia isn’t too far from Senegal if an unforgettable Safari is on your bucket list.
Sharm-el-Sheikh
TUI launched holidays to Sharm El Sheikh with flights departing from February 2020 and these flights continue to operate on a Wednesday from Birmingham. From May 2020, TUI will offer both 10 and 11 night holidays to Sharm El Sheikh with an extra flight also available on a Sunday.
Famous for the glistening red sea and amazing sandy beaches, customers can expect high quality hotels and the year round sun the region is known for. Four hotels including old favourites along the beautiful Red Sea coast are now on sale, with even more in the pipeline.
Goa
Long haul flying from Birmingham airport for winter 2020 will see further expansion with flights added back to popular winter destination Goa (India) and new weekly flying days to Punta Cana (Dominican Republic) giving customers even more choice.
TUI UK&I’s Director of Aviation Planning, Karen Switzer said: “Earlier this month TUI announced its winter 2020 and summer 2021 holiday programme which has since expanded with more destinations and added flights. We are delighted that the additional flights provide holidaymakers departing from our regional airports with even more choice when deciding where to go away. With additional flying capacity and more than 1,000 hotels already on sale for summer 2021 it gives those planning ahead the opportunity to choose the most suitable airport, destination and hotel.
“The customer is at the heart of everything we do and this additional growth to some of our customer’s favourite holiday hotspots from Birmingham airport demonstrates our continued commitment for people to discover their smile with us.”
Punta Cana
Long haul flying from Birmingham airport for winter 2020 will see further expansion with flights added back to popular winter destination Goa (India) and new weekly flying days to Punta Cana (Dominican Republic) giving customers even more choice.
Tom Screen, Aviation Director of Birmingham Airport said: “We are delighted to see TUI growing its long-haul route network from Birmingham, with the return of Sharm El Sheikh from February and new services to The Gambia, Goa, Punta Cana next winter. TUI is such a popular and respected brand amongst customers and the travel industry and we are proud to be able to serve these new flights as well as the existing 53 destinations available with TUI from Birmingham.”
Innsbruck
Jet2.com has announced summer flights to Innsbruck for the first time, with services on sale from Birmingham Airport for Summer 20.
The UK’s Best Airline will operate flights to the Tyrolean capital between June and September for the first time, giving holidaymakers access to a range of adventures in the stunning Alps as well as the delights of charming Innsbruck itself. Today’s announcement comes on the back of the company’s first ever programme of ski services to Innsbruck, which start in December this year.
The UK’s third largest airline has put 10,000 seats on sale from Birmingham Airport for its first programme of summer services to Innsbruck. This includes weekly Wednesday services which run from 3 June through to 16 September.
Vienna
Austria's No.1 low-cost airline starts the new direct connection from Birmingham to Vienna. Lauda offers three weekly connections from Birmingham to Austria’s capital. Customers and visitors can book their tickets now for an unbeatable price and will fly with the greenest/cleanest airline group in Europe, which has the lowest CO2 emissions.
Vienna was voted the most livable city on the planet for the tenth time in a row. There is no better time of the year to discover Vienna’s world-renowned art, culture and culinary delights than in autumn and winter. Visit the Schönbrunn Palace, St. Stephen’s Cathedral or one of the numerous exhibitions by national and international artists.
Glasgow and Edinburgh
easyJet, Europe’s leading airline, has announced a new route between Birmingham and Edinburgh. The new domestic city connection will operate 13 times a week throughout the year, with flights launching on 29 March 2020.
Over 180,000 passengers are expected to use the new service during the first 12 months of operation.
This is the second new Birmingham route easyJet has announced in as many weeks, following the news that the airline will operate a new service to Glasgow which shares the same start date and weekly frequency as the new service to Edinburgh.
Poznan and Krakow
Birmingham Airport launched two new routes with Wizz Air, welcoming back the popular Poznan route and introducing a new route to Krakow.
The addition of these two new routes complement the existing six routes that Wizz Air serves to: Bucharest, Budapest, Cluj-Napoca, Warsaw, Wroclaw and now adds Poznań and Krakow with Poznan twice weekly and Krakow three times weekly.
Travellers to Poznań can expect an abundance of things to see and do including a choice of historical attractions and museums, renaissance-style architecture, as well as dining and nightlife options to suit a range of tastes. Those wishing to explore Krakow, a city known for its old-world ambiance and charm, can experience a range of exciting galleries, cafes, pubs and restaurants.
Tom Screen, Aviation Director at Birmingham Airport said: “It’s great news that Wizz Air is now operating flights to Poznań and Krakow, bringing the total number of routes Wizz Air operate from Birmingham Airport to seven. These new services provide vital connections for friends and family as well as enabling travel to exciting city break destinations! We are grateful to Wizz Air for their continued commitment to Birmingham Airport and the Midlands.
“Wizz Air also operates to Bucharest, Budapest, Cluj-Napoca, Warsaw, and Wroclaw and now adds Poznań and Krakow. and now adds Poznań and Krakow to its route list. The new routes are a fantastic addition and we’re really looking forward to growing our offering with Wizz Air over the next few years here at Birmingham Airport.”
Tamara Vallois, Head of Marketing and Communications at Wizz Air said: “We are delighted to announce we now operate a total of seven routes from Birmingham Airport. We launched our very first Wizz flight to Birmingham in 2015 and today, we offer seven low-fare routes to Poland, Romania and Hungary. With fares from only £17.99 hope to see many happy customers on board our brand-new Airbus aircraft on routes to Poznan and Krakow as well as on all the other routes in the Wizz network.”
