Sunny skies ahead for Teesside Airport as Ryanair introduces Portugal flights

A North East airport has announced that it is launching a new slate of flights to Portugal following “strong” sales for other destinations.

Teesside Airport, in Darlington, has teamed up with Ryanair to launch a new twice-weekly service to Faro in Portugal’s Algarve region.

This comes less than two weeks after the country was added to the UK’s green list for international travel, meaning that passengers will not need to quarantine on arrival back in the UK.

The new route is the seventh service that Ryanair will be running from Teesside this summer, joining flights to Alicante, Palma and Corfu.

Last week, fellow North East airport Newcastle International reported that it would be starting flights to Portugal with airline British Airways.

Jason McGuinness, Ryanair’s commercial director, commented: “We are very pleased to announce a new route from Teesside to Faro on the back of the UK’s green list announcement.

“Teesside customers will now have the choice of four popular destinations this summer, with flights to Alicante, Faro and Palma de Mallorca from June, and Corfu from July.

“Teesside Airport continues to deliver efficient operations and competitive airport charges, allowing for long-term traffic growth and new routes.

“To celebrate this new Faro route, we are launching a seat sale with fares available from just £19.99, for travel from June until the end of October 2021, which must be booked by midnight Thursday, 20 May.”

Ben Houchen, mayor of Tees Valley, said: “This is fantastic news, and yet another vote of confidence in our airport. Of course, it has only been made possible because of the tremendous take-up of Ryanair’s flights to Alicante and Palma by local people.

“Passengers are showing they’re backing our airport and Ryanair is paying back their commitment in spades. Even before the first flight has taken off, Ryanair has listened to what people have been crying out for and doubled its routes to give them a much-needed break.

“We’ve been working hard over the past few months to transform our terminal, get it fit for the 21st century and make it easier and smoother than ever to pass through.

“We can’t wait to welcome people back through our doors for these great summer breaks – and our growing slate of other domestic and international flights.”