North East airports start new routes as peak summer season gets underway
A series of new destinations are now available this summer from North East airports.
The peak summer months are now here, and while the North East has seen temperatures to rival the Mediterranean, new flights to some top destinations have opened up from local airports.
From Tuesday, June 2 until Tuesday, October 20, Ryanair will run flights between the Greek island of Corfu and Teesside International Airport.
The announcement comes after Newcastle International Airport added a series of new flight routes which kicked off at the end of May.
Travel company and airline Jet2 has waved off its first flights from the North East’s largest airport as its programme grows into additional routes to Porto in northwest Portugal, Preveza in mainland Greece and Palermo in Sicily.
The first flight to Porto departed from the Airport on Friday, May 22, with twice-weekly services now operating every Monday and Friday.
Jet2’s inaugural flight to Palermo departed on Tuesday, May 26, with weekly Tuesday services operating throughout the summer.
Weekly Wednesday flights to Preveza began on Wednesday May 27, serving as a gateway to some of Greece’s most popular Ionian coast destinations.
Leon McQuaid, Director of Aviation Development at Newcastle Airport, said: “It’s fantastic to see Jet2 expand its Summer 2026 programme from Newcastle Airport with the addition of Porto, Preveza and Palermo.
“These exciting new destinations provide our passengers with even more choice and reflect the strong demand for connectivity from the North East to some of Europe’s most popular sunshine and city break hotspots.
“We’re confident that Jet2’s new routes will be hugely popular, further strengthening the excellent range of destinations available from Newcastle Airport this summer.”
Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, added: “We are delighted to be introducing three new destinations for Summer 2026 from Newcastle Airport and to see the first flights to these hotspots depart over the next few weeks.
“We have no doubt that these new routes will prove popular and we are very much looking forward to taking customers on their well-deserved holidays this summer and showcasing our award-winning credentials.”
Teesside Airport fliest to five nations across Europe while Newcastle International Airport boasts over 80 direct routes.