Blackpool Airport Blog

New Madeira route from Atlantic Holidays

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 17:03:00 GMT

Atlantic Holidays, a major package holiday provider, has announced plans to fly from Blackpool Airport to the Portuguese archipelago, Madeira, from May 23 2011. The route, which will operate until September 26, will take travellers to the city of Funchal on Madeira’s south coast.

Located in the North Atlantic, Madeira is one of the most affluent regions of Portugal. The island is famed for its temperate climate, sandy beaches, and basaltic peaks, formed thousands of years ago by volcanic activity. However, Madeira’s most striking feature is also one of the first sights that holidaymakers see – Madeira Airport. The hub’s runway is suspended 70m above the Atlantic Ocean by hundreds of vertical columns.

Atlantic Holidays’ decision to fly from Blackpool is part of a UK-wide expansion of its services to Portuguese destinations. The firm will offer flights from thirteen more airports in summer 2011, including Bournemouth, Kent Manston, and Durham. The holiday firm claims that it is the largest operator on routes to Madeira, the Azores, and Porto Santo, a tiny island and a “closely guarded secret", to quote Atlantic's website.

Sales chief at Atlantic, Dino Toouli, said that his company is “confident that Madeira will prove extremely popular” with travellers in the northwest. Mr. Toouli noted that planes leased from seasoned airline, Monarch, would be used on the route, specifically, the Airbus A320. The A320 can carry around 150 passengers per flight.

Atlantic Holidays is currently offering 7-night breaks in Madeira from Blackpool Airport. Travellers are offered a choice of accommodation, from the three-star hotel, Dom Pedro Garajau, to the luxury Pestana Grand, to the west of Madeira’s capital, Funchal.

Tickets for Blackpool-Madeira are available for purchase on Atlantic's booking page.

Blackpool and Jet2 in High Court battle

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 14:37:54 GMT

Earlier this month, Blackpool Airport was on the losing end of a High Court battle with budget airline, Jet2. The airport, which runs flights to the Isle of Man, Spain, and Italy, was defending a decision to send staff members home after 9pm, forcing Jet2 to divert late night journeys to Manchester Airport. The move, said airline bosses, was designed to “interfere” with Jet2’s operations in the northwest.

The airline was granted a temporary injunction by High Court judges, ordering Blackpool Airport to accept flights well into the night. However, Paul Rankin, boss at the northwest hub, intimated that Jet2 was being intentionally belligerent, by “refusing” to apply for permission to operate after hours flights from the holiday resort. Paul also noted that Blackpool was closing early to reduce losses, which currently stand at £2.5m.

Closer to the present, Jet2 is now seeking a permanent extension to opening hours at Blackpool Airport. Ironically, success could seriously hurt the airline’s business in the northwest: Blackpool is currently mulling over 85 redundancies, which means that the airport has neither the capital nor the manpower to open later than normal. Forcing the hub to exist beyond its means could run it into the ground, throwing Jet2 out on its ear.

Blackpool’s solicitors have blamed Jet2 for the airport’s financial woes, stating that the airline has not increased flights to and from the northwest, as per the terms of its contract with the hub. Responding, Jet2’s lawyer, Philip Shepherd, said that airport bosses have done nothing to promote the airline’s business. Consequently, there is no demand for new flights in the northwest.

Shepherd noted that Jet2 and Blackpool have endured a “strained” relationship for a good half-decade, following the departure of Ryanair in 2005. The most recent row appears to have erupted on a weekend at the end of October, when, following a flight diversion, Jet2 had to transport a group of angry passengers from Manchester, back to Blackpool.

Blackpool goes in search of Santa

Fri, 26 Nov 2010 10:34:09 GMT

Although most supermarkets and department stores have had their baubles out since the middle of October, the majority of Brits will have only just realised that November is ending, and Christmas is just 29 days away.

The next month will bring out the best, and indeed, the worst, in the human race, as people all over the globe indulge in shopping marathons and pitched battles with pine trees that just wanted to be left outside, before the New Year leaves us wondering how we’ve become so tubby.

From December 22, children in the northwest will be given the opportunity to meet ‘Santa in the sky,’ aboard a special 70-minute flight from Blackpool Airport. The event, which was created by UK tour operator, Omega Holidays, will lead young passengers on a quest to find the jolly fat bloke, and bring him aboard the plane.

Whether the plane will be in the air when St. Nick is hauled aboard is debatable, but given the inherent danger of opening aircraft doors mid-flight, it’s much more likely that Santa will emerge from behind a seat when he (and his reindeer entourage) are discovered. Nevertheless, pilots will be ‘keeping an eye out’ for the bearded one on the aeroplane’s radar.

The flight is similar to the Northern Lights tour that operates from Doncaster Robin Hood, in that the aeroplane takes off, but doesn’t actually travel to another airport; rather, it reaches a pre-set destination, and then turns around. However, the end of the tour is perhaps the most exciting part for passengers, as Santa will reward the children who helped find him with presents.

Pre-flight, guests can enjoy a 45-minute entertainment show, and meet St. Nick’s elves, who will be on day-release from the toy workshop, helping at the airport’s check-in desk.

Manx2 opens first English base at Blackpool

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 12:49:50 GMT

The success of The Tangerines, otherwise known as Blackpool F.C., has had a positive effect on the local aviation industry, according to Noel Hayes, chairperson at Isle of Man airline, Manx2.

Mr Hayes claims that the team’s promotion to the English Premier League has been “welcomed by hundreds” of football fans on the island, many of which regularly make the trip between the Isle of Man Airport in Ronaldsway, and the Bloomfield Road Stadium in Blackpool. So great is demand for flights from the island to the northwest of England, that Manx2 has opened up a new home at Blackpool Airport, its first ever base outside the Isle of Man and Ireland.

Manx2 has been a guest at Blackpool since 2006, when it launched a “shuttle service” between the holiday resort and its homeland. The airline initially put on two daily flights, but that number has increased to four a day (and three on a Saturday) in recent years, as the route’s popularity soared.

Despite the carrier's ongoing presence at the Lancashire hub, Manx2’s recent expansion marks the first time that the commuter airline has based crew and aircraft, a single L-410 Turbolet built by Czech company, LET, at Blackpool on a permanent basis. “We have attracted many visitors from the northwest region who choose to use Blackpool as a convenient gateway to the Isle of Man,” Noel Hayes explained. The chairman also noted the popularity of a route to Belfast from Ronaldsway, which is attracting customers from both sides of the Irish Sea.

However, the coming winter could upset Manx2’s plans for its Blackpool-Isle of Man route. The airline was forced to ground all eight of its aircraft on Thursday last week, after “storm force” winds ripped through the island, uprooting trees and creating enormous waves.

Blackpool celebrates Dublin flight

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 14:27:34 BST

On Sunday, Blackpool International Airport unveiled a brand new route to Dublin complete with a lavish celebration inside the main terminal. The flight will operate daily from the Lancashire site, under a franchise agreement between Aer Lingus and Aer Arran.

Blackpool is perhaps best known for its winter illuminations, its child-friendly funfairs, and that great iron tower, something that most northerners see before they are ten years old. The airport is an afterthought, if it is mentioned at all.

An important Jet2 hub, Blackpool Airport provides a gateway to some of Britain’s many island communities, including Jersey, the Isle of Man, and Ireland. Blackpool is not solely a domestic airport, however, and the site maintains links with a number of continental destinations, such as Tenerife, Malaga in Spain, and Faro in southern Portugal.

Blackpool’s new route has proved particularly popular with airport bosses, largely because it connects the northwest with destinations on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, albeit indirectly. Airport chief, Paul Rankin, was delighted with Aer Lingus’s latest investment – ‘It is fantastic news for our passengers...The new route will enable them to link into Dublin’s transatlantic network. They will be able to book straight through from Blackpool International to JFK Airport in New York.’ Blackpool organised a day of Irish-themed events on the 28th of March, including Guinness tasting and entertainment by an Irish dancing troupe.

Blackpool Airport is currently offering free parking for all outbound passengers, up to a maximum of 15 days.

Blackpool to introduce Bulgaria flights

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 16:16:48 BST

Passengers flying from Blackpool Airport will be pleased to hear that flights to Bulgaria are being introduced once again after a break of four years. As from August 9 next year, passengers will be able to fly to Bourgas in Bulgaria on one of the flights that will be running once a week. The new flights will be managed by Balkan Holidays and will be departing from the South Shore terminal.

The flights were cancelled back in 2006 after being run by Book2Go, and officials at the airport think the reintroduction of the route is going to be a hit. Sue Kendrick, the customer relations and communications manager, said that it had been “sorely missed” and that many people had requested that it be reinstated. She also stated that Bulgaria has great sandy beaches and amazing weather, and that because it is a euro-free zone it is also a lot cheaper than many other alternative countries. For example, a three-course meal can cost as little as £10 a person.

It has been a good year for Blackpool Airport as it has seen passenger numbers on the rise. This bucks the trend of the majority of UK airports which have seen falling numbers as cash-strapped passengers decide to stay at home during the recession.

One reason that it has been doing so well recently is down to its new parking scheme. This has meant that passengers over 16 travelling from the airport have to pay an extra £10 surcharge, and in return they are granted up to 15 days free parking. Despite proving controversial for some, the scheme is clearly proving popular.