New long-haul flights prepare for take-off as summer season starts 

Two new far-flung holiday destinations will appear on Newcastle Airport’s departure board this Bank Holiday weekend as the summer season officially gets underway, offering passengers more long-haul holiday destinations from Newcastle than ever before. 

The new flights, to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic and Cancun in Mexico, will take off for the first time on Sunday 4 May and Monday 5 May respectively. 

The bank holiday weekend marks the start of the busy summer season for Newcastle International Airport.  Over 150 seasonal staff have been recruited to help look after the 3.5 million passengers expected to pass through the airport between May and October.  Additional jobs have been created in customer services, security, baggage handling, coaching and passenger assistance.

Chris Sanders, head of airline relations and development said: “Since last summer, Newcastle International Airport has worked harder than ever to develop its long-haul route network.    We’re very pleased to announce even more scheduled flights to some beautiful destinations not just in Europe, but across the world.  Punta Cana and Cancun promise to be very popular with customers in the region.  And it’s worth remembering that holidays to long-haul destinations like Mexico and the Dominican Republic can be just as affordable as a short-haul holiday to the Mediterranean.”

Newcastle’s growing list of long-haul destinations now includes Cancun (Mexico), Punta Cana (Dominican Republic), Puerta Plata (Dominican Republic), Orlando, Toronto, Dubai and Sharm el Sheikh (Egypt).

Around two-thirds of North East passengers flying with Emirates to Dubai are then connecting onwards to further-flung locations around the world.  Popular destinations for Newcastle passengers include Australia, the Maldives, Mauritius, Johannesburg and Singapore.

Customers can also take advantage of new flights to Newquay and Plymouth with Air Southwest this summer, opening up the stunning South West coast to holidaymakers from our region for the first time.