DALLAS — London Luton-based easyJet (U2) announced that it will base its sixth aircraft next summer at Scotland's second busiest airport. The positioning of easyJet's sixth aircraft at Glasgow Airport (GLA) will lead to the creation of around 40 new jobs.

U2 will place an additional aircraft at GLA next year. The airline announced it will base an additional aircraft in Glasgow in the summer of 2024, thus taking U2's fleet at GLA to six. The arrival of a sixth aircraft at U2's Glasgow base is positive news for customers who can take advantage of the improved air connectivity from the city. U2 connects GLA with 84 destinations across the United Kingdom and Europe.

As well as offering customers more choice and greater flight connectivity from GLA, the added flights will create around 40 new job opportunities at the airport. The move comes after U2 operated an expanded flight schedule from Scotland in 2023, flying a record seven million passengers to and from Scotland in the 2023 financial year.

Adding the sixth aircraft at GLA means U2 will have nearly 300 employees based in GLA. This figure includes pilots, cabin crew, and base management staff.

U2’s Presence in Scotland

easyJet's presence in Scotland has grown significantly. The airline operates flights from four locations in Scotland. U2 carried a record number of passengers in Scotland in the last financial year, now making it the region's largest carrier in terms of passenger numbers. Ali Gayward, easyJet UK Country Manager, celebrated the announcement by stating:

"We are proud to be Scotland's largest airline and are delighted to have carried a record seven million customers in our last financial year, offering a fantastic network of 84 routes across four Scottish airports: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Inverness."

easyJet's Glasgow network has grown tremendously over the last year, with many new routes being launched from GLA. The airline has already announced new routes from GLA for the 2024 financial year. This includes destinations such as Hurghada, Larnaca, and Enfidha, which will be operated starting next summer.

Gayward added, "We continue to see opportunity in Scotland, which is why we are pleased to be basing an additional aircraft in Glasgow from next summer to offer our customers even more choice, like our new routes to Enfidha and Larnaca, providing more connectivity to popular destinations across the UK, Europe and beyond, all with great value fares and a warm welcome onboard."

Management at Glasgow Airport welcomed U2's expansion plans, noting the airline's phenomenal growth since it launched flights from GLA over 27 years ago. Matt Hazelwood, Chief Commercial Officer at AGS Airports, which owns Glasgow Airport, stated,

"easyJet's decision to introduce a sixth-based aircraft is a huge endorsement of our continued recovery and testament to a fantastic relationship that stretches back more than 27 years to the airline's inaugural flight."

"This is a significant investment given that the introduction of a yet another based aircraft brings with it and will support approximately 40 new jobs at Glasgow Airport."

Featured Image: easyJet Airbus A320-251N G-UZLB. Photo: Hendrik Bittorf/Airways