Jet2.com and Jet2holidays marked another major milestone in their continued success stories, when the leading leisure airline and UK’s largest tour operator celebrated their inaugural flight departing from Bournemouth Airport – their 12th UK airport base.

The busy flight departed from Bournemouth Airport to Tenerife with happy holidaymakers jetting off on a much-needed holiday to the popular sunshine destination. This inaugural flight signals the start of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays operating award-winning flights and package holidays from the airport for the first time.

To mark the occasion, holidaymakers on the first flight were put at the very heart of the celebrations, including being treated to a VIP customer experience, a red-carpet welcome and personalised gifts. As they waited to board the first flight, they were also entertained by a Flamenco band called Mi Flamenco. One lucky customer also received a seven-night Jet2holiday to the Pure Salt Port Soller in Majorca, personally awarded to them by CEO Steve Heapy, and the first ten holidaymakers to check-in at the airport were surprised with a pair of Jet2.com return flights.

The official arrival of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays in Bournemouth further expands the companies’ footprint in the South of England and means holidaymakers and independent travel agents in Bournemouth, Southampton, Portsmouth and the wider region can now benefit from the companies’ award-winning flights and ATOL protected package holidays from their local airport.

Jet2.com and Jet2holidays will operate to 16 destinations from across Europe, the Mediterranean and Canary Islands (full list of destinations below) in their first summer of operations from Bournemouth Airport, representing over 280,000 seats on sale.

For Summer 25, Jet2.com and Jet2holidays will operate up to 27 weekly flights, including multiple weekly flights to popular destinations across the Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, Turkey and Greece as well as services to hotspots such as Mainland Spain, Portugal and Madeira. Maderia is an exclusive Jet2 destination from Bournemouth Airport.

A fleet of two-based aircraft will fly holidaymakers from Bournemouth Airport on their package holidays with Jet2holidays and leisure flights with Jet2.com for Summer 25.

Since putting flights and holidays on sale from Bournemouth Airport, the airline and tour operator have experienced phenomenal demand from customers and independent travel agents right across the airport’s catchment area. As a result of this consistent and strong demand, the companies actually brought forward the launch of the new airport base by two months from 1st April to 4th February.

As well as bringing forward the launch date, the continued strong demand from customers and independent travel agents means the airline and tour operator have already expanded their programme for next summer (Summer 26) from the airport, with 21 sun and leisure city destinations on sale – including five brand-new hotspots. 

The new Summer 26 destinations are Malaga, Dubrovnik, Kos, Reus and Vernona, with the last four hotspots being exclusive to Jet2.com from the airport. To support this expanded programme, Jet2.com have invested in the airport, with an extra aircraft coming into operation at Bournemouth Airport, meaning a fleet of three-based aircraft in operation for Summer 26. 

In further exciting news, Jet2.com and Jet2CityBreaks have also recently gone on sale with their first Winter programme for 2025/26, including its ever-growing Christmas Markets programme from Bournemouth Airport, as well as a brand-new programme of once-in-a-lifetime trips to Iceland. In total, Jet2.com and Jet2holidays have a total of 12 sun and leisure city destinations on sale for their first winter of operations from the airport.

The start of operations from Bournemouth Airport will soon be followed by the launch of flights and holidays from the companies’ 13th UK airport base – London Luton Airport on 1st April. In November, the tour operator and airline announced the expansion of their operations once again after going on sale from this new UK airport base, with 17 destinations on sale across Europe, the Canary Islands and the Mediterranean from London Luton Airport. It comes in response to strong demand for award-winning flights and Real Package Holidays from customers and independent travel across London, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire.

As well as booking and travelling on award-winning flights and ATOL protected holidays to a wide selection of destinations from Bournemouth Airport, customers in the South of England can enjoy the companies’ VIP customer service which has seen them be awarded the prestigious accolade of Which? Travel Brand of the Year for the past three years. In addition to that, Jet2.com has been recognised as a Which? Recommended Provider for the past nine years, and Jet2holidays has been recognised as Which? Recommended Provider for the past seven years.

In addition to their famously welcoming customer service, holidaymakers can also enjoy friendly low fares, great flight times, 22kg baggage allowance (additional cost) and 10kg hand luggage with Jet2.com. Those wanting to take advantage of ATOL protected package holidays can book with Jet2holidays and receive that same VIP customer service along with a choice of 2 to 5-star accommodation, in-resort Customer Helpers, transfers to and from the airport and Free Child Place Holidays, all for a low £60 per person deposit. 

The highly anticipated arrival of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays at Bournemouth Airport has also resulted in significant investment for the region, with more than 125 new jobs created across ground operations, flight deck and cabin crew.

Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, said: “This is an incredibly exciting day for Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, as we expand our award-winning flights and holidays to our 12th UK airport base at Bournemouth Airport. We are extremely excited to see our inaugural flight take off, and celebrations were definitely in the air as we marked this important milestone with customers at the very heart of the celebrations. 

“The response from customers and independent travel agents across the region and beyond since announcing our launch from Bournemouth Airport has been outstanding, and we are looking forward to enjoying enormous success at our newest base. We are excited to be bringing our proven formula, including great value package holidays, award-winning customer service and family friendly ethos to our new customers at Bournemouth Airport from today. Today’s announcement also means significant investment in the region and has resulted in the creation of new jobs and careers across a range of exciting areas such as ground operations, flight deck and cabin crew. 

“Recently, we announced London Luton Airport as our 13th UK airport base, too. As well as waving off our inaugural flight from Bournemouth Airport, this significant expansion shows that we have every confidence in our award-winning product, which has proven popular time and time again when we bring it to new customers.”

Andrew Bell, CEO of RCA, Regional and City Airports, which owns Bournemouth Airport, said: “Today marks a milestone moment for Bournemouth Airport as we proudly celebrate the first Jet2.com and Jet2holidays flight and the significant start of operations at Bournemouth as their newest base airport. This achievement is the result of a fantastic partnership and tremendous teamwork, and I want to thank everyone who has worked so effectively to make this exciting day a reality.

“The arrival of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, alongside our wider route development initiatives, has acted as a catalyst for new employment opportunities and a multimillion-pound investment in our airport infrastructure and facilities. These ongoing enhancements ensure we are ready to embrace a period of exciting growth while continuing to deliver a first-class experience for passengers.

“We look forward to the ongoing success of our partnership with Jet2.com and Jet2holidays and the major contribution it makes in firmly establishing Bournemouth Airport as a nationally significant hub for air travel and the preferred choice for passengers across the south of England.”