Volotea, Austrian Airlines and Eurowings are all preparing to launch new routes involving former Routes Europe host cities.
Seville-Olbia
Volotea is continuing to expand its Mediterranean leisure network with the launch of a new route between Seville, Spain, and Olbia, Italy, creating the only nonstop connection between the Andalusian city and northern Sardinia.
The service will begin on May 29 and operate twice a week through September on Tuesdays and Fridays. The launch strengthens Seville’s international network following the city’s role as host of Routes Europe 2025.
The addition also further reinforces Volotea’s growing presence at Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport, which has become one of the carrier’s largest destinations in Italy. The airline has operated from Olbia since 2012 and established an operational base there in 2021.
During 2025, the carrier operated 27 routes from the Sardinian gateway and offered approximately 1.1 million seats. The new Seville service forms part of a broader strategy aimed at boosting international connectivity and supporting traffic outside the peak summer season.
For Seville, the route adds another Italian destination to a steadily expanding European network. Over the past year, Volotea has continued to grow at the Andalusian airport, adding routes to Verona and Bordeaux during the winter 2025-26 season, both of which are set to return in winter 2026-27. Seasonal flights to Lille and Florence are also being introduced this year, complementing existing domestic services to Asturias, Bilbao, San Sebastian and Santander.
Although Seville already has links to several Italian cities—including Bari, Bologna, Milan Malpensa and Venice—the Olbia route opens a new connection to Sardinia’s northeast coast. Ryanair already serves Seville from Cagliari in southern Sardinia, meaning the new Volotea route expands the Spanish city’s connectivity to the island rather than creating an entirely new market.
Vienna-Bergen
Austrian Airlines is expanding its Scandinavian network this summer with the launch of nonstop service between Vienna and Bergen, restoring a route absent from the market for almost seven years.
Flights between the Austrian capital and Norway’s second-largest city will begin on June 1 and operate 3X-weekly through mid-September using Airbus A320 aircraft. The route will become the only nonstop connection between Austria and Bergen, one of the gateways to Norway’s fjord region.
The launch also reconnects Vienna with a former Routes Europe host city, with Bergen having staged the event in 2022.
The route reflects growing outbound demand from Austria to Norway, particularly for leisure travel focused on fjords, outdoor tourism and northern experiences. According to Fjord Norway, overnight stays by Austrian visitors in western Norway increased 11% in 2024.
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For Austrian Airlines, Bergen represents another step in a broader Nordic expansion strategy. The Lufthansa Group carrier already operates daily flights between Vienna and Oslo and will offer routes to Tromsø and Harstad-Narvik from June.
By mid-July 2026, Austrian plans to offer about 4,256 two-way seats between Austria and Norway, according to OAG Schedules Analyser data, up from 2,832 during the same period in 2025.
The Vienna-Bergen route was last served by Wizz Air between November 2018 and October 2019 but has remained unserved since then. Austrian’s entry therefore restores nonstop connectivity while positioning the airline to capture both point-to-point leisure traffic and connecting demand through Vienna.
Hannover-Glasgow
Eurowings is returning to Glasgow Airport (GLA) after a seven-year absence with the launch of a new seasonal route to Hannover, restoring direct connectivity between Scotland and Germany’s Lower Saxony region.
The service will begin on June 29 and operate three times per week through Aug. 23 on Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays. The launch connects Hannover—a former Routes Europe host city, having staged the event in 2019—with Scotland.
It also marks Eurowings’ first operation from Glasgow since March 2019, when the Lufthansa Group carrier ended flights to Dusseldorf. That route had originally launched in 2012 under the Lufthansa Regional brand before transitioning to Eurowings.
The new Hannover service comes at a time when nonstop connectivity between Glasgow and Germany remains relatively limited. Lufthansa currently operates 2X-daily flights between GLA and Frankfurt using Airbus A320-family aircraft, but no other Germany routes are active from the airport at present. However, easyJet is due to resume Berlin service later this year, while Jet2 plans seasonal flights to the German capital focused on the Christmas market period.
Germany’s broader connectivity to Scotland remains centered on Edinburgh, where Lufthansa operates triple-daily flights to Frankfurt and daily service to Munich. EasyJet serves Berlin and Munich from the Scottish capital, while Eurowings flies to Cologne/Bonn, Dusseldorf and Stuttgart. Ryanair also connects Edinburgh with Berlin Brandenburg and Dusseldorf Weeze.
For Hannover, the Glasgow route adds only its second UK connection. According to OAG Schedules Analyser data, British Airways currently serves the airport from London Heathrow with double-daily flights.
The Glasgow addition also forms part of a wider expansion by Eurowings from Hannover. During summer 2026, the airline is also introducing new routes to Nice and Alicante.
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