Monarch Airlines Lands in Bodrum

UK carrier Monarch Airlines has inaugurated flights between Manchester and the popular Turkish resort city of Bodrum as it expands its presence in the Turkish and Greek markets this summer. The twice weekly schedule was introduced on May 2 and will be joined by twice weekly services from Birmingham and London Gatwick on May 23. At the same time the airline will introduce a three times weekly route between London Luton and Corfu.

"We've listened to the feedback we've received from our customers and we're expanding as a result,” said Kevin George, Managing Director, Monarch Airlines. “Turkey and Greece are increasingly becoming the sunshine destinations of choice for discerning travellers and we're extremely happy to be able to extend our service to these destinations."

An estimated 1.56 million O&D passengers travel between the UK and Turkey every year, with charter traffic adding to this figure. There are currently on a limited number of scheduled links to Bodrum. Monarch already has flights from London Luton, easyJet has seasonal services from Bristol, London Gatwick and Liverpool, while Jet2 has a connection from Manchester. These are all operated at frequencies of less than three flights per week. An estimated 103,301 O&D passengers travelled there from the UK in the past year, up 58.1 per cent on the previous 12 months, although these figures do not include the activities of Thomas Cook Airlines and Thomson Airways which offer links from 15 UK airports.