EASYJET has opened a new base at Birmingham airport, creating 140 direct jobs and supporting around 1,200 in total.

It is the low-cost carrier's first new base at a UK airport in over a decade and this now takes its tally in the country to nine.

Opening the operations at

Birmingham will pave the way for the launch of 16 new routes this summer and enable around 50 per cent more flights each week.

UK flights, most of which depart from Gatwick, now make up around 56 per cent of Easyjet's operations and it is forecasting a 10 per cent increase in seat sales in and out of Britain this year, to more than 57m.

Johan Lundgren, Easyjet's chief executive, said: "We are excited to open our newest UK base at Birmingham, providing more choice, competition and connectivity as well as supporting over 1,200 jobs for the region."

Birmingham operates direct connections to a number of European city airports, including Amsterdam, Geneva, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Berlin Brandenburg.

(c) 2024 City A.M., source Newspaper