The Diplomat
The airline Volotea has announced the launch of a route connecting Gibraltar airport with Bilbao, with a frequency of two days a week: Tuesdays and Fridays. The connection, operated by an Airbus A319, will start on 2 July offering around 8,200 seats between July and September.
Volotea will be the only airline to connect Gibraltar with a city in Spain, a fact that has provoked a reaction from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Diplomatic sources quoted by the newspapers Europa Sur and Área, pointed out that the department headed by Arancha González Laya “is assessing the possibilities of air navigation with the territory of Gibraltar”. They also pointed out that the Rock “is outside the territorial scope of application of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom and the provisions on air transport contained therein”. For this reason, they added, “there is currently no legal cover for flights from the territory of Gibraltar to any airport in the European Union, which obviously includes Spain”.
The announcement was welcomed by the Gibraltar Government’s Minister for Business, Tourism, Transport and Ports, Vijay Daryanani, who said he was confident that the announcement would be welcomed by Gibraltar’s tourism industry and business community, “as this service,” he said, “creates more opportunities to attract visitors to the Rock. I am also sure,” he added, “that those living in Gibraltar and the region will welcome the opportunity to visit Bilbao and the surrounding area. This will help generate even more shared prosperity for the area.
Volotea’s founder and CEO, Carlos Muñoz, said that the opening of the new route is part of the company’s desire to continue connecting small and medium-sized cities with great flexibility and maximum safety. We are very happy,” he said, “to be able to announce the opening of this new route that seeks to satisfy a demand that was not being met.
Volotea offers a free ticket deferral, up to 7 days prior to departure, for any departure until 30 September 2021 and confirmed until 30 April 2021. The flight schedule is subject to health conditions and restrictions imposed by the authorities of European countries and may be subject to change.
The airline points out that, at the airport and on board its aircraft, it guarantees a safe experience, with strict protocols and sanitary measures certified by Bureau Veritas.
Volotea was created in 2011 by Carlos Muñoz and Lázaro Ros, founders of Vueling, and is one of the fastest growing independent airlines in Europe and since its creation, has transported more than 30 million passengers throughout Europe.
The company currently has bases in 16 European capitals: Asturias, Athens, Bilbao, Bordeaux, Cagliari, Genoa, Hamburg, Lyon (opening in 2021), Marseille, Nantes, Naples, Palermo, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Venice and Verona. Volotea serves more than 100 cities in 16 countries, including Algeria, which will launch in September from France.
