Ryanair will base three aircraft at London Southend Airport, which is located 40 miles to the east of the city. Ryanair plans to open the base in summer 2019, adding 13 new routes to eight countries. “Southend Airport’s train station will deliver direct services from the terminal to London Liverpool Street and also the new Crossrail service [opening in 2019], making the airport even more accessible from all parts of London,” Ryanair CCO David O’Brien said. O’Brien added the base is expected to bring around 1m annual passengers and 750 on-site jobs to the airport. “We have a clear and focused strategy to grow our airport to welcome over 5m passengers a year by 2022. This news will help us achieve that aim,” said Warwick Brady, CEO of London Southend Airport operator Stobart Group.<br/>
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EasyJet will launch four new routes from Nice Cote d’Azur airport in south east France. From June 25-Aug. 31, the carrier will operate twice-weekly flights to Biarritz in southwest France. It is also launching summer flights from Nice to Catania in Sicily and Chania in Crete. A twice-weekly service to Tel Aviv began operating June 5 and runs through Oct. 27, the airline said. Nice has been one of the carrier’s French bases since 2012—which also includes Paris Charles de Gaulle and Paris Orly, Toulouse, Lyon, Toulouse and Bordeaux—bringing its total capacity in France to 22m seats, a 21% increase in growth locally.<br/>
Emirates is deploying additional flights to cater to pilgrims travelling to Mecca during the busy season of Umrah. Between June 12 and June 24, the carrier is operating 24 extra flights to provide more than 10,000 seats for flyers from Dubai to Jeddah, a gateway to the Islamic holy city. The pilgrimage season, which sees hundreds of thousands of pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia, starts in Ramadan and ends in July. Saudi Arabia is one of the top destinations for Muslims during Ramadan, with visitors to Mecca and Madinah alone seeing a huge influx of visitors around this time of year. “Emirates’ additional flights will help accommodate more convenient travel through Dubai during the Umrah season,” the airline said. “These services will run in parallel with Emirates’ regularly scheduled services to Jeddah, which includes three daily flights. The additional services can be accessed by travellers holding a valid Umrah visa.”<br/>