UK's easyJet to open new base in Portugal's coronavirus-battered Algarve

EasyJet said Thursday it would open a new base in Faro, the main city in Portugal’s popular Algarve tourist region, which has been hammered by the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Joao Lopes, easyJet’s executive director in Portugal, said the airline would allocate three aircraft to Faro next year, making it the company’s third base in the southern European nation. It already has bases in Lisbon and Porto. EasyJet hopes to operate 17 international routes to and from Faro between March and October 2021. Lopes said easyJet wanted to “be able to react as soon as the recovery starts (...) and reinforce tourism in Algarve”, a region well known among British tourists for its beaches and golf courses.<br/>