easyJet’s Winter Expansion: Connecting Glasgow and Southampton with Direct Flights

EasyJet, a low-cost airline based in the UK, recently unveiled a number of new routes for the winter. While the most striking of these fly to far-off places like Akureyri, Iceland, the orange-clad airline is also growing its network closer to home. For instance, it will link Glasgow and Southampton in November.

According to information released by Glasgow Airport last week, the low-cost carrier with its main office in Luton will start operating flights between Glasgow (GLA) and Southampton (SOU) on 2nd November of this year. EasyJet intends to run two weekly rotations on this internal route within the United Kingdom, with flights leaving on Thursdays and Saturdays.

Ali Gayward, the UK country manager for easyJet, commented on the launch and said: “We’re delighted to announce this new route from Glasgow to Southampton, which will provide customers in Scotland even with greater connectivity across the UK, enabling people to explore more of the fantastic destinations the UK has to offer, reconnect with loved ones, and do business.”

These flights are now available for booking, with the Thursday flights between Glasgow and Southampton leaving at 16:00 and arriving at 17:20. The return leg is planned to depart at 17:50 and land at Glasgow Airport 85 minutes later, at 19:15, after a brief 30-minute turnaround. The flights run from 08:05 to 09:25 on Saturdays (GLA-SOU) and from 09:55 to 11:20 on Saturdays (SOU-GLA).

In November, there will be additional airlines that offer aerial connections between Glasgow and Southampton in addition to easyJet. In fact, Scottish small airline Loganair has a substantial presence on this route and offers up to four flights each day. This confirms the corridor’s attractiveness, as mentioned by Matt Hazelwood, CCO at AGS Airports, Glasgow Airport’s owner: “easyJet’s plans to operate services between Glasgow and our sister airport in Southampton this winter is great news and this additional service on this popular route will help deliver greater choice and flexibility for both our business and leisure travellers.”

Data from the United Kingdom’s Civil Aviation Authority, which reveals that almost 75,000 people utilised the route in each way last year, further emphasises the demand for the route. As a result, Glasgow Airport in Southampton rated fourth overall in terms of routes last year, while Glasgow placed ninth in terms of domestic destinations, with passenger numbers more than doubling.

The significance of a direct aerial connection cannot be overstated, even though Glasgow and Southampton don’t exactly have the biggest airports in the UK. Since there are no direct trains between the cities, rail travel involves a change in London and takes over seven hours. In contrast, travelling by car the 430 miles (690 km) from Glasgow to Southampton requires more than seven hours of driving time.