In a statement, the company emphasises that it will add another plane in Faro for the summer of 2022 and another four in Malaga and Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
According to easyJet, this investment creates around 150 direct jobs for pilots and crew under local contracts in Portugal and Spain.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, easyJet has continued to invest in Portugal, where it opened a new base in Faro in June 2021 and increased the global Portuguese fleet by 60 percent”, says the carrier.
The airline also adds four new aircraft to its other seasonal bases in Spain, two in Malaga and two in Palma de Mallorca.
“This movement represents an increase of the easyJet fleet by 70 percent at the bases in Portugal and Spain, compared to the pre-pandemic period, and in Portugal, in particular, it represents an increase of more than 60 percent since 2019, with a new aircraft at the Porto base – since the summer of 2020 – and four new planes in Faro, since the opening of this base in June 2021”, is mentioned in the note.
Thus, next summer, Faro will have four planes, bringing the Portuguese fleet to 13 planes, including five at the base in Lisbon and four in Porto.
“This investment will create around 150 direct jobs in Portugal and Spain. In Portugal alone, easyJet currently employs more than 425 people, all under local contracts and negotiated with Portuguese industrial unions”, stresses the carrier.
José Lopes, easyJet Country Manager for Portugal, mentioned in the press release, says he is very pleased to be able to announce this investment in the Portuguese market.
“Although the entire industry is still experiencing a difficult environment, this confirms easyJet's commitment to Portugal and to the sustainable growth of the country and its European network. We are constantly evaluating new opportunities and given the success of our new seasonal base in Portugal, adding more capacity to these destinations is a logical step”, he underlined.
José Lopes also welcomed the fact that the new investment created around 30 new direct jobs.
“We are proud to be one of the strongest airlines in Portugal, with almost 7.2 million passengers transported to and from the country during the pre-pandemic and more than 20 million passengers to and from Faro since 1999, when the easyJet started operations in the Algarve”, he said.