Routes & Networks Latest: Rolling Daily Updates (W/C Feb. 24, 2025)

The latest airline route news, featuring network changes, schedule alterations, codeshares and interline agreements.
 

Feb. 28

EasyJet has announced several new routes from UK airports starting during the winter 2025-26 season. From London Southend Airport, three new destinations are being added, connecting the airport with Barcelona and Lanzarote, in Spain, and Salzburg, Austria. Flights to Barcelona will operate twice a week from Oct. 26, while service to Lanzarote will be offered 3X-weekly from Oct. 27. The new Salzburg service will operate 2X-weekly from Dec. 6. From Birmingham Airport, the LCC plans to introduce a year-round service to Lanzarote, starting on Oct. 27 and operating twice a week. EasyJet is also increasing its Spanish offer from Liverpool Airport, opening a new route to Gran Canaria from Oct. 27, operating twice a week.

Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT) has confirmed that Spirit Airlines does not plan to return to the airport during the forthcoming summer 2025 season. The airline offered one route to the airport during summer 2024, flying from Orlando. However, JetBlue Airways has confirmed plans to launch a seasonal route from MHT to New York John F. Kennedy International Airport from June 12. Flights will be offered daily through Oct. 25 using Airbus A320 aircraft.

Etihad Airways plans to operate daily Airbus A380 service to Toronto Pearson International Airport from June 24. According to OAG Schedules Analyser data, the service from Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport is currently operated using A350-1000 equipment. “This will strengthen connections to the broader GCC and Indian subcontinent and attract more visitors to experience the vibrant city of Abu Dhabi,” says Arik De, Etihad chief revenue and commercial officer.

Swiss carrier Edelweiss has commenced flights to Salalah, Oman. The airline will operate a 2X-weekly Zurich-Muscat-Salalah-Zurich route using Airbus A340-300 aircraft until May, before being paused until September. OAG data shows that Oman Air also offers Oman-Switzerland flights, operating nonstop between Muscat and Zurich four times per week.

Ryanair’s summer 2025 season schedule from Valencia Airport, Spain, will feature 62 routes, including two new destinations. The new routes being added are to Pescara, Italy, and Poznan, Poland. The ULCC will station seven aircraft at the base during the season. Meanwhile, Ryanair is also adding three new routes from Alicante Airport, increasing its network from the Spanish airport to 90 destinations. Service is being launched to Bydgoszcz, Poland, and Linz and Salzburg, Austria. Eighteen aircraft will be based at Alicante during the summer 2025 season.

Feb. 27

Gulf Air, the national carrier of Bahrain, has announced the launch of new direct flights to London Gatwick Airport, expanding its presence in the UK market. Beginning March 30, the airline will operate three flights per week on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday using Boeing 789 aircraft. “We are confident this service will not only provide greater travel options for Gulf Air’s passengers but also boost trade and tourism opportunities between the two countries,” a Gulf Air spokesperson said. The carrier already serves London Heathrow Airport twice a day, as well as operating 5X-weekly to Manchester.

Azerbaijan Airlines and Ural Airlines are set to expand their networks to Samarkand International Airport (SKD), Uzbekistan, with new direct services from Azerbaijan and Russia, respectively. Starting April 1, Azerbaijan Airlines will launch 2X-weekly flights between SKD and Baku. The service will operate on Wednesdays and Sundays. Meanwhile, Ural Airlines will introduce a weekly service between SKD and Krasnoyarsk, also launching on April 1. Flights will operate on Tuesdays. “These flight connections will strengthen the cultural, tourist and business ties between Uzbekistan and these two important countries, while providing passengers with convenient and affordable air transport links,” says Ulugbek Shamsikulov, CEO of Air Marakanda, the airport management company for SKD.

Wizz Air is expanding its network with new routes across Europe, adding flights from Birmingham to Rome, Vienna to Tuzla, and from Sofia to Alghero and Kraków. The Birmingham-Rome Fiumicino route will launch on June 16, with 3X-weekly flights on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. From Vienna, the ULCC will introduce flights to Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, starting June 15, with 4X-weekly roundtrips. In Bulgaria, the airline will expand operations from Sofia with new routes to Alghero and Kraków in June. Flights to Alghero will operate 2X-weekly from June 19, while the Kraków service will run three times a week from June 16.

AirBaltic will increase flight frequencies to Amsterdam, from all three Baltic capitals—Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius—starting March 30. The airline will operate 3X-daily flights between Riga and Amsterdam, and 2X-daily flights between Amsterdam and both Tallinn and Vilnius. “Amsterdam is one of the most popular destinations in our network, and by closely monitoring market trends and passenger demand, we recognize that increasing flight frequency is a strategically important step for the Baltic region,” airBaltic CEO Martin Gauss says.

Ryanair has announced its Belfast International Airport summer 2025 schedule, featuring 19 routes, including a new seasonal service to Kaunas, Lithuania. Frequencies will also rise to popular leisure destinations such as Malaga, Alicante and Malta. The expansion represents a 16% growth in operations, supported by two Belfast-based aircraft. Ryanair reopened its base at the airport in 2023.

Feb. 26

Copa Airlines has announced the launch of a new route connecting San Diego with Panama City, Panama, starting June 25. The service will operate four times a week. San Diego becomes the airlines’ third destination in California and its 17th U.S. route. “With the addition of San Diego, we enhance connectivity between Southern California and Central America, South America and the Caribbean, fostering tourism and commercial exchange across the continent,” Copa Airlines CEO Pedro Heilbron says.

Flydubai has announced the launch of flights to Antalya, Turkey, as part of its seasonal summer operations. Starting June 5, the Dubai-based carrier will operate a daily service to Antalya International Airport from Dubai International Airport. The LCC will also resume seasonal flights to Bodrum and Trabzon between June and September. Flydubai’s network in Turkey now includes six destinations: Ankara, Bodrum, Istanbul Airport, Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport, Trabzon and Antalya.

Croatia Airlines will launch a new route connecting Hamburg Airport (HAM) and Zagreb, with flights operating three times a week starting July 1. Hamburg becomes the 30th destination in the carrier’s network. The airline will deploy Airbus A220 aircraft on the route. “Croatia is already a very popular holiday destination for northern Germans—now they have even more choice,” says HAM head of aviation, Dirk Behrens.

Japan’s Zipair Tokyo is to increase service between Tokyo Narita and San Jose Mineta, California. Frequencies will rise from 5X to 6X-weekly from May 6 through Aug. 12. Additionally, the airline will offer six roundtrips per week between Tokyo Narita and Vancouver, up from 5X-weekly, effective May 8 through Aug. 14.

ITA Airways is launching codeshare flights with five Lufthansa Group airlines—Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Air Dolomiti—allowing passengers to travel on a single ticket. The agreement, effective for travel from March 30, expands ITA Airways' network by more than 100 new connections for the upcoming summer season. Lufthansa Group passengers can now book ITA Airways flights to domestic destinations in Italy and international routes via Rome Fiumicino and Milan Linate. In turn, ITA Airways customers can codeshare on Lufthansa Group flights between Italy and hubs such as Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich and Brussels.

Feb. 25

IndiGo plans to commence widebody operations between New Delhi and Bangkok from March 1. Frequencies using the Boeing 787-9 will be daily. The move follows the induction of the aircraft, which has been damp-leased from Norse Atlantic Airways. “The early induction of our widebody aircraft marks a significant milestone in our journey,” IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers says. “Starting between Delhi and Bangkok, we intend to shift to Europe from mid-summer.” The Indian LCC is understood to have applied for slots in Amsterdam and Copenhagen, while it is also exploring the launch of routes to London and Paris.

Ryanair has confirmed its summer schedule from Palma de Mallorca, Spain. The ULCC will offer a total of 80 routes, including two new connections to Hamburg Lubeck, Germany, and Pardubice, Czech Republic. Ryanair will base 16 aircraft in Palma during the summer 2025 season. It says the move will support more than 6,900 local jobs. Meanwhile, the airline plans to offer 33 routes from Ibiza and 19 from Menorca. 

Hungary’s Wizz Air is increasing frequencies on two routes from Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Flights to Basel, Switzerland, will operate three times per week from March, rising to 6X-weekly from late May through late October. Operations to Dortmund, Germany, will also grow from 2X to 3X-weekly from March. The ULCC served both routes twice a week during the summer 2024 season.

Avelo Airlines is dropping four routes. The airline will end service from Bradley International Airport (BDL) near Hartford, Connecticut, to two North Carolina airports on March 30: Wilmington International Airport (ILM) and Concord-Padgett Airport (USA) near Charlotte. Avelo will additionally drop service from Wilmington, Deleware (ILG) to both Atlanta (ATL) and USA on Feb. 27. An Avelo spokesperson told Aviation Week the airline has “decided to consolidate our Connecticut service with the focus on domestic service at Tweed-New Haven Airport (HVN) and international service at BDL.” The routes “generated low demand,” the Avelo spokesperson said. “While we are ending these four routes, we are looking to fill the flight time with additional frequencies to existing cities and potential new markets in the future.”

Feb. 24

Korean Air will commence a 2X-daily route between Seoul Incheon Airport and Kobe, Japan, from April 18. Flights will operate using a mix of Boeing 737-900 and 737-8 aircraft. According to data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser, the airline, the airline will be the sole operator of nonstop service between the destinations. Kobe, a city in the Kansai region, becomes the 15th city in Japan served by Korean Air.

GOL Linhas Aéreas is opening a new route between Belém, Brazil, and Miami. Flights will start on June 15, operating twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays. The launch comes as Belém prepares to host COP30, the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference, which takes place from Nov. 10-15. “In addition to meeting the demand for travel related to the major global event, with the possibility of expanding the offer of frequencies by GOL, the route is an option to further connect the North region and Brazil to the U.S.,” a statement from GOL says.

Norse Atlantic Airways is expanding service to Bangkok during the winter 2025-26 season. The carrier plans to launch a new route from London Gatwick Airport to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport from Oct. 26, operating up to four times per week. “This addition not only strengthens our network between Asia but also builds on existing routes from London Gatwick to destinations across the Atlantic and South Africa,” Norse CEO Bjørn Tore Larsen says. Additionally, Norse will increase Oslo-Bangkok from 3X to 4X-weekly from Dec. 3, while Stockholm Arlanda-Bangkok doubles to 4X-weekly from Dec. 5.

Air Canada is boosting capacity on its routes from Dublin this summer, adding more flights to Vancouver and Montreal while maintaining year-round service to Toronto. The expansion follows the temporary suspension of Dublin Airport’s passenger cap. Starting May 2, the airline will operate its Dublin-Vancouver route five times per week, up from three, while flights to Montreal will operate four times per week from June 2. All routes will be served by Boeing 787 aircraft.

Moroccan flag-carrier Royal Air Maroc is set to launch a new service to London Stansted from Casablanca this summer. Starting June 24, flights will operate three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays using a Boeing 737-800. “The service is designed to cater to both business and leisure travelers, offering them a convenient way to explore Morocco’s largest city while also providing connections onto Royal Air Maroc’s extensive network across Africa,” a statement from the airline says.