Which? names Bournemouth Airport one of best in UK

We love being in Dorset but sometimes you just need to get away from it all don’t you? So, the announcement this week that Bournemouth Airport has been named one of the UK’s best-performing airports and that two new destinations - Venice and Lanzarote - have been added to Ryanair’s winter schedule, is very exciting. And I speak as someone who has recently travelled by train from Poole to Venice and back!

No wonder Which? magazine awarded Bournemouth Airport five stars; they are celebrating a rise in passenger numbers, which are, unlike many other airports, nearly back to pre-pandemic levels. Also praised for its short security queues, expert local teams and few baggage handling errors, the airport got top marks in the magazine’s survey. 

Knowing us Brits love a bit of winter sun, Ryanair will already fly to top Spanish holiday destinations Alicante, Tenerife South and Malaga from Bournemouth this winter, so adding a weekly flight to Lanzarote makes perfect sense.

And Venice (after Milan and Rome) is the third most popular Italian destination, so being able to pop to Venice for a weekend getaway from Bournemouth is a great advantage, with flights available twice a week.

 “Ryanair is pleased to announce its new Bournemouth winter schedule with two exciting new routes to Lanzarote and Venice,” said Jade Kirwan, Head of Communications at Ryanair.

“With almost 40 weekly flights across 10 routes, our Bournemouth customers and their families can look forward to booking a much-deserved city break or winter sun getaway with the UK’s most reliable airline.”

She goes on to say that Bournemouth Airport is “really important” to the company, who will base one of its aircraft at Bournemouth. This represents an investment of over $100 million and will create 30 jobs in our region, supporting a further 470 around the airport. The budget airline is expecting to reach over 585,000 passengers through Bournemouth by the end of the year with its mix of city break locations and winter sun destinations; Ryanair also flies to Dublin, Faro, Wroclaw, Malta and Krakow from Bournemouth.

Managing Director of the airport, Steve Gill, said: “We are incredibly proud of what has been achieved at Bournemouth Airport and the way in which we have bounced back so strongly, with passenger numbers significantly ahead of industry trends, matched by table-topping customer service scores which put us in the top five of UK airports. It is no mean feat, given the unprecedented disruption caused by the pandemic, and it is a huge tribute to everyone in the team here which is brim full of enthusiasm and commitment.

“Thanks are also due to our customers who have returned so quickly to support their regional airport and to our partners and operators who share our vision for Bournemouth Airport as the regional airport of choice, serving a wide range of destinations and providing an exceptional level of customer experience.”

To find out more about Bournemouth Airport and Ryanair flights, go to www.bournemouthairport.com

By Emily McGregor, Local News and Lifestyle Reporter