Yorkshire’s Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield has announced the launch of new Flybe flights to Paris Charles de Gaulle, and also announced a new business route to Dusseldorf that will be available for booking from March 31, 2016.
Part of a new eight-route deal between Flybe and the airport, the launch of the new routes will see the UK-based budget airline deliver the largest number of departures from the Yorkshire airport, offering some 42 extra flights per week. As part of the deal, nearly 500,000 extra new flight seats will be available to Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Jersey, Newquay, Malaga, Alicante and Faro.
Steve Gill, managing director of Doncaster Sheffield Airport, said: ‘We are delighted to see the first Flybe flight taking passengers to Paris this morning. Our new motorway link road, Great Yorkshire Way, opened just in time for the new influx of passengers, making journeys to the airport much quicker and bringing six million people to within an hour’s drive.’
‘We are also delighted to announce that today (24 March) Flybe has strengthened its commitment with a further new route and expansion of its Berlin services. New flights to Dusseldorf are set to commence for the winter season. Services to Berlin will also increase from four weekly to daily, due to unprecedented demand from the Sheffield City regions business community.
‘Providing the Sheffield City Region with the business services it needs has long been an ambition and now that these services are here we must see the region voting with their feet and using them. Passenger demand to date has exceeded expectations. This is a phenomenal start but there is still much work to do,’ Gill added.
Vincent Hodder, chief revenue officer, Flybe said ‘Today is a day we have been working towards for a long time with eight brand new routes starting over the next few days from a brand new base – and we are delighted to announce details of yet another new route with a service to Dusseldorf. We are confident we have created a schedule that delivers attractive travel options that are both appealing and affordable as well as providing opportunities for onward global connections. Flybe prides itself on offering great value fares and a convenient, fast, reliable service to some very popular destinations. We look forward to welcoming all our new passengers on board.’
The new Embraer 195 jet aircraft that took off from Doncaster Sheffield Airport to Paris on March 24, inscribed with ‘Welcome to Yorkshire’ livery, will be used to promote the Yorkshire region to potential tourists across Europe and the UK. Under the new deal, Doncaster Sheffield Airport and Flybe were recently announced as the official airport and airline partner of the tourism agency respectively.
Doncaster Sheffield Airport is expected to register double-digit growth in 2016, with the extra seats and growth from other carriers expected to take passenger figures from 900,000 in 2015 to 1.35 million in 2016, the airport said.
