The latest airline route news, featuring network changes, schedule alterations, codeshares and interline agreements.
March 14
Norwegian is expanding its presence at Billund Airport (BLL), Denmark, with a new year-round route to London Gatwick Airport (LGW), launching on June 30. The airline is also increasing flights to Alicante and Malaga to meet growing demand. Service to LGW will be 6X-weekly during peak summer season. Alicante will become year-round, operating twice a week. Malaga will remain 3X-weekly during the summer, but winter season frequencies will grow from once to 3X-weekly. The expansion follows Ryanair’s decision to close its two-aircraft base at BLL.
Avianca is expanding connectivity between Colombia and Argentina by adding three new weekly flights between Bogotá’s El Dorado International Airport and Buenos Aires’ Ezeiza International Airport, starting April 1. The new flights, operating on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, will increase Avianca’s frequency on the route from 14 to 17 flights per week. The airline also operates direct flights from Bogotá to Buenos Aires’ Aeroparque, as well as routes from Medellín, Quito and Guayaquil to Ezeiza.
Air Europa has announced a codeshare with Smartwings, adding Prague to its network. Smartwings currently serves Prague-Madrid three times per week, rising to daily from March 30. Air Europa says the partnership expands its presence in Central Europe and strengthens connectivity for travelers via its Madrid-Barajas hub.
Somon Air will resume flights between Dushanbe and Bishkek from March 14, following successful negotiations between Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon and Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov. The route’s reinstatement aims to strengthen diplomatic, economic and cultural ties between the two nations while facilitating tourism and travel. Service has been suspended since 2020. Somon Air will initially operate the route weekly using Boeing 737-800 and 737-900 aircraft, before adding a second weekly flight.
Ryanair is expanding its network from Tirana, Albania, with two new routes to Lamezia, Italy, and Warsaw Chopin, Poland, as part of its summer 2025 schedule. The airline will operate more than 320 weekly flights to 23 destinations from Tirana and expects to carry more than 3 million passengers annually. “The ongoing expansion of Tirana Airport, which will significantly increase capacity, presents a major opportunity for Albania to continue its impressive growth in air traffic and tourism, including the potential to attract a Ryanair base,” the airline says in a statement.
March 13
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) will resume flights to Beirut this summer, restoring service that had been suspended since October 2023. Beginning in June, the airline will operate up to five weekly flights—three from Copenhagen and two from Stockholm—citing improving regional conditions. The latest schedule will see the airline serve Copenhagen-Beirut from June 6 through Oct. 25, and Stockholm-Beirut from June 17 through Aug. 31. "These routes are particularly important for those traveling to see family and friends, and we are delighted to once again offer a direct and convenient connection," says Henrik Winell, network vice president at SAS. Flights will be operated by Airbus A320neo aircraft.
AirAsia X (AAX) is expanding its international network with a new route from Kuala Lumpur to Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, starting May 30. The 4X-weekly service makes it the only LCC in Malaysia offering direct flights to Karachi. “AAX anticipates carrying more than 100,000 guests annually on this route, further reiterating our commitment to support the Malaysian government's initiative to welcome 30 million tourists in line with the Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign,” AAX CEO Benyamin Ismail says.
Wizz Air is set to launch a new summer-season route between Alghero, Sardinia, and Sofia, Bulgaria, further expanding its network in Italy and Eastern Europe. Starting June 19, the airline will operate 2X-weekly flights on Thursdays and Sundays using Airbus A321neo equipment. The route will operate through late October, complementing Wizz Air’s existing services from Alghero to Budapest and Bucharest.
Volotea is expanding its Italian network from Lyon with the launch of a new summer route to Salerno, in the Campania region. Starting July 4, the airline will operate two flights per week on Mondays and Fridays, offering more than 6,000 seats on the route. The airline now serves 35 destinations from Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport across 11 countries.
Ryanair will launch a new seasonal route between Katowice Airport, Poland, and Budapest, Hungary, on July 3, 2025, operating twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays until Oct. 23. This marks the third new Ryanair route from Katowice for the summer 2025 season, following the airline’s upcoming services to Dubrovnik on March 31 and Brussels-Charleroi on April 1.
March 12
Vietjet has announced the launch of a new route between Phu Quoc, Vietnam, and Singapore Changi Airport (SIN), set to begin on May 30, alongside a $300 million aircraft financing agreement with Carlyle Aviation Partners. The announcement was made during Vietnam’s General Secretary To Lam’s official visit to Singapore. The new route will operate four roundtrip flights per week, increasing Vietjet’s total weekly flights between Singapore and Vietnam to 78. The airline expects to serve more than 500,000 passengers annually across its four Singapore routes. It also serves SIN from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang.
Breeze Airways will launch service to Key West, Florida, on June 12, marking its 10th destination in the state and 70th nationwide. The LCC will offer nonstop flights from Key West to both Orlando and Tampa, operating four times per week on Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays. The airline also announced it will double service between Tampa and Pensacola to 4X-weekly flights beginning June 5.
Southwest Airlines has expanded its presence at Sacramento International Airport (SMF) with three new nonstop routes and increased service to key destinations. The airline has launched a daily red-eye flight to Baltimore, Maryland, followed by new service to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and Tucson, Arizona. Southwest also increased the frequency of flights to Los Cabos, Mexico. Additionally, the carrier plans to increase frequencies on the recently launched SMF-Orlando service to daily from May 1.
Spirit Airlines is set to expand its service at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport with new nonstop flights to Atlanta (ATL), Dallas (DFW) and Newark (EWR) beginning in early May. Service to EWR will launch on May 1, operating twice weekly on Thursdays and Sundays. Flights to DFW will begin on May 8 with the same schedule, while service to ATL starts on May 9, operating on Mondays and Fridays. Spirit will operate these routes with a mix of Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft. Additionally, the ULCC has announced plans to launch 4X-weekly Memphis-Detroit service from May 8. The route will be operated using A321 equipment.
Ryanair has announced its summer 2025 schedule for Veneto airports—Venice, Verona and Treviso. The ULCC will base six aircraft in the region (four in Venice, two in Treviso) and operate 83 routes (25 from Venice, 17 from Verona and 41 from Treviso), expecting to carry 6.9 million passengers annually. However, Ryanair warns that significant growth in the Veneto region is constrained due to the Italian government’s decision to increase the municipal tax by €0.50 ($0.55) per passenger at major airports, including Venice, from April 1.
Qatar Airways is increasing flight frequencies to key destinations across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Among the increases, London Heathrow service will rise from 49 to 56 weekly flights, while Larnaca, Madrid and Tokyo Narita will each gain three additional weekly flights. Other notable expansions include Damascus, increasing from three to 14X-weekly flights, and Sharjah, which will now have 35X-weekly flights. Entebbe and Amsterdam will see service rise to 11X-weekly flights, while Tunis will increase to 12. The airline is also boosting service on the Dar Es Salaam-Kilimanjaro and Maputo-Durban routes to daily flights.
March 11
Vietjet is set to launch a service connecting Hanoi and Shanghai, the fifth new route to China announced by the Vietnamese LCC in 2025. Flights between the two cities are scheduled to start on April 29. The move follows the planned addition of routes linking Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Beijing Daxing International Airport and Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, starting March 30. Frequencies on these routes will be daily, except for Hanoi-Beijing, which will run three times per week. Vietnam recorded more than 17.5 million international visitors in 2024, a 39.5% increase compared to 2023. Mainland China was the country’s second-largest source market, contributing 3.7 million visitors, trailing only South Korea, which accounted for 4.5 million arrivals.
Emirates will expand the list of cities served by its refurbished Boeing 777 to London Stansted Airport (STN) from May 7 and to Seoul Incheon International Airport from April 14. The enhanced four-class aircraft features premium economy and its newly configured business class. STN joins London Heathrow and Edinburgh as the third UK destination to be served using the retrofitted 777s.
Spirit Airlines is launching a new nonstop service connecting Richmond International Airport (RIC) and New York LaGuardia Airport from May 7. This addition marks Spirit’s third destination from RIC, joining existing flights to Fort Lauderdale and Orlando. Frequencies will be 4X-weekly. Spirit first began serving RIC in March 2018.
March 10
Vietnam Airlines has revealed plans to launch nonstop service between Ho Chi Minh City and Denpasar, Bali, beginning June 1. The announcement was made during the state visit of Vietnamese General Secretary To Lam to Indonesia. The airline will initially operate four weekly flights on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays using Airbus A321 aircraft. Frequencies will increase to daily from July. The planned launch marks Vietnam Airlines’ second route to Indonesia, bringing its total number of weekly flights between the two countries to 14. As part of its expansion strategy, Vietnam Airlines also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Association of Indonesian Travel Agents to boost tourism collaboration between the two nations. The partnership aims to promote joint marketing initiatives and enhance air travel services. Additionally, Vietnam Airlines has scheduled the launch of a new route to India. According to OAG Schedules Analyser, flights between Hanoi and Bengaluru will be four times per week from May 1 using A321 equipment.
Avelo Airlines inaugurated nonstop service between Tweed-New Haven Airport (HVN) and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), marking its second Texas destination from HVN. The airline first introduced service to Houston in June 2024. “We have been very encouraged by demand for our service from New Haven to Houston, and we look forward to offering this second popular destination in the Lone Star State,” says Avelo founder and CEO Andrew Levy.
Saudi LCC flyadeal has announced its summer 2025 schedule, featuring the return of five seasonal destinations and the introduction of Salalah, Oman, as a new addition to its network. The airline will once again operate flights to Baku; Azerbaijan; Sarajevo; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Sharm El Sheikh; Egypt; Tbilisi; Georgia; and Trabzon; Turkey. For the first time, flyadeal will also offer flights from Riyadh to Salalah, operating three times per week from June 19.
IndiGo is opening a new route to Sri Lanka. Flights between Tiruchirappalli and Jaffna will start on March 30, operating daily. “Building on the success of our Chennai-Jaffna service, this new connection will further strengthen our network in the region,” says Vinay Malhotra, IndiGo head of global sales. The new route increases the LCC’s network in Sri Lanka to more than 60 flights per week from five cities in India: Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Tiruchirappalli.
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