easyJet Adds New Airbus A320 Flights to Cairo Sphinx, Reykjavik, Geneva, and Ten Other Destinations for Winter 2026

EasyJet (U2), Europe’s second-largest low-cost airline, has confirmed 13 new winter routes from eight UK airports for the 2026/27 season. The new flights connect London Luton, London Southend, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, and Cornwall Airport Newquay with destinations in Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Egypt, France, Switzerland, and Scotland. Bookings opened immediately, with one-way fares starting at £23.99, and the first new service takes off on 25 October 2026.

Kevin Doyle, easyJet’s UK Country Manager, announced the expansion as part of the airline’s push to strengthen regional connectivity and support inbound tourism across Britain. The schedule covers winter sun, ski, and city-break demand at once, headlined by Manchester Airport’s (MAN) first-ever direct route to Cairo and Cornwall Airport Newquay’s (NQY) first international service, to Geneva (GVA). Newcastle Airport (NCL) receives the largest share of the growth, with five new routes that quadruple the airline’s presence there since its base opened in March 2026.

Manchester Gains Exclusive Direct Route to Cairo’s Sphinx Airport

EasyJet will start flying twice weekly from Manchester Airport (MAN) to Cairo’s Sphinx Airport (SPX) from 9 November 2026, operating on Mondays and Fridays. According to easyJet’s official announcement, it will be the only carrier flying this route, making Manchester the only UK city with a direct link to Sphinx Airport.

Sphinx Airport sits close to the Pyramids of Giza and western Cairo, so the route shortens transfer times for travellers heading to Egypt’s main historical sites. Simple Flying reports that easyJet first began flying to Sphinx Airport three years ago, and Manchester becomes its eighth UK or European city served from that facility. The route blends easyJet’s wider strategy of pairing winter sun demand with cultural tourism, since Cairo and Hurghada both feature in this announcement.

Newcastle’s Network Quadruples with Five New Routes

Newcastle Airport (NCL) receives the single biggest boost in this expansion. Five new routes will launch there between late October and late November 2026:

• Barcelona (BCN) — from 25 October, twice weekly on Fridays and Sundays
• Hurghada (HRG) — from 27 October, twice weekly on Tuesdays and Saturdays
• Copenhagen (CPH) — from 5 November, twice weekly on Thursdays and Sundays
• Berlin (BER) — from 20 November, twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays
• Rovaniemi (RVN) — from 25 November, twice weekly on Wednesdays and Sundays

This brings easyJet’s total Newcastle network to 31 routes. The airline says it has more than quadrupled its presence at Newcastle since opening its base there in March 2026. Simple Flying also notes that the Newcastle base now operates with three aircraft and supports around 1,200 jobs, including 140 direct pilot and cabin crew roles, making it easyJet’s 11th UK base.

Newcastle is also a competitive airport. Jet2 is the airport’s largest partner, flying to more than 50 destinations in 21 countries, while Ryanair serves 18 European destinations and TUI flies to more than 35 destinations across 17 countries, including long-haul markets such as Barbados and Mexico. EasyJet’s growth at Newcastle puts it in direct competition with all three carriers for winter leisure traffic.

Cornwall Airport Newquay flies internationally for the first time

Cornwall Airport Newquay (NQY) will operate its first-ever international route this winter, flying once weekly to Geneva Airport (GVA) in Switzerland. According to Travel Daily News, the seasonal service runs on Saturdays from 16 January to 27 February 2027. This gives Newquay its only direct link to Switzerland and opens up ski travel for passengers in Cornwall who previously had no direct route to the Alps.

New services from Luton, Southend, Birmingham, and Liverpool

EasyJet is also adding routes from four other UK airports:

• London Luton Airport (LTN) will gain two new international routes. Flights to Kittilä (KTT) in Finland start on 24 November, operating twice weekly on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Flights to Strasbourg (SXB) in France begin on 29 November, with four weekly departures on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays.
• London Southend Airport (SEN) will launch a new domestic route to Edinburgh Airport (EDI) on 25 October, operating twice weekly on Thursdays and Sundays.
• Birmingham Airport (BHX) will start flying to Copenhagen (CPH) from 16 November, twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays.
• Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LPL) will add two Nordic routes: Reykjavik (KEF) from 2 November, twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays, and Kittilä from 25 November, twice weekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Travel Weekly UK confirms that all 13 routes are listed as on sale now, both on easyJet’s website and through its mobile app.

EasyJet’s Holiday Packages and Pricing for the New Routes

EasyJet holidays packages are available for all the new destinations except Kittilä and Rovaniemi. Packages bundle flights, hotel stays, and 23kg luggage allowance, and include transfers for trips to Cairo and Hurghada. Customers can book with a deposit of £60 per person.

The airline is also promoting two policies alongside the new routes:

• Ultimate Flexibility, which lets customers amend a booking
• Best Price Guarantee on package holidays

One-way seat fares on the new routes start from £23.99, according to easyJet’s press release.

What Kevin Doyle said about the expansion

Kevin Doyle, easyJet’s UK Country Manager, linked the new routes directly to regional connectivity and inbound tourism. In the airline’s official statement, he said:

“We are delighted to announce 13 new routes and thousands more package holidays are now available from eight airports across the UK this winter, providing customers with even more choice from their local airport, all with great value and fantastic service.”

He continued by tying the announcement to the variety of trips on offer, noting: “Whether our customers are looking for winter sun, ski or adventure, they can now book an even greater range of destinations with confidence.” This comment connects the route mix directly to the demand segments easyJet is targeting — Lapland and Iceland for adventure travel, Egypt and Spain for winter sun, and Geneva for ski access.

How this Winter Expansion Compares with easyJet’s Other Recent News

This announcement does not exist in isolation. It follows a busy stretch of news for the airline. The winter expansion follows a significant summer route campaign and lands at a sensitive moment for easyJet’s ownership structure. US investment firm Castlelake has been weighing a possible takeover bid for the airline, though no formal offer has been made. Simple Flying notes that this interest sits within a broader pattern of investment activity in the aviation sector, and that a formal bid could become one of Europe’s largest airline takeover attempts in recent years.

The winter growth also follows easyJet’s expansion into North Africa. easyJet confirmed a new base in Marrakech with six new routes, growing its Morocco network to 58 routes. easyJet CEO Kenton Jarvis described the carrier as the largest operator to Morocco from both the UK and Switzerland when announcing that base.

Taken together, the Marrakech base and the UK winter routes show an airline expanding on two fronts at once: deepening its position in established North African leisure markets while also widening its UK domestic footprint through smaller regional airports such as Newcastle and Newquay.

Background of easyJet’s Wider Network

EasyJet operates more than 350 aircraft across over 1,200 routes to more than 160 airports in 35 countries, according to its own newsroom. The airline carried 100 million passengers in 2025 and says more than 300 million Europeans live within an hour’s drive of an easyJet airport.

EasyJet also runs a corporate partnership with UNICEF that has raised more than £17 million for vulnerable children since the partnership began in 2012.