Vueling will fly 15 routes to and from Malaga Airport this summer

The Spanish low-cost airline Vueling has strengthened its commitment to Malaga Airport and Andalucía as a whole this upcoming peak season. The airline's director of network and strategy Jordi Pla has announced that this summer they will link the Costa del Sol with fifteen destinations, increasing connectivity with international destinations, such as Amsterdam and London-Gatwick, which will be expanded with seven extra flights per week. Vueling will also increase its operations with Paris Orly Airport by two flights a week. Domestic flights will not be left behind, with an increase by seven more flights a week at Tenerife-North, nine at Las Palmas and five at Fuerteventura. The Balearic Islands have received a proposal of one more flight daily, while the connection with Barcelona will be strengthened by another two weekly services. In total, Vueling will grow by 23.2% in the number of seats it will offer on the Costa del Sol, compared to the same period last year.

This summer, the airline will fly from Malaga to Lanzarote, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bilbao, Brussels, Cardiff, Rome-Fiumicino, Fuerteventura, Ibiza, London-Gatwick, Gran Canaria, Paris-Orly, Palma de Mallorca, Santiago de Compostela and Tenerife-North. On this occasion, it will maintain the same destinations as in the 2024 high season.

Pla discussed the future of Vueling's routes in a meeting with the Junta de Andalucía's head of tourism, Arturo Bernal, and the director of corporate affairs, brand and sustainability of Vueling, Sandra Hors. During the conference, Pla highlighted the economic impact of the company's commitment to Andalucía and stated that Vueling will base an extra aircraft at Malaga Airport and at Seville Airport during the 2025 high season, which will stretch from late-March to October. With this move, the airline will offer more than five million seats distributed across six Andalusian airports, 540,000 more than in 2024. It will have 38 routes available, to 16 destinations, six of which are international.

Arturo Bernal said that "the advantages of this new development for Seville and Malaga include more connections and direct flights, greater stability, significant economic and employment impact, better flight schedules and greater investment in infrastructure. In addition to all of this, there are growth figures of 40% for the Costa del Sol and 20% for the city of Seville alone".

Pla pointed out that the airline's activity in 2023 contributed 751 million euros to Andalucía's GDP and generated more than 12,000 jobs, representing 4.2% of tourism employment in the region. "The reinforcement of Vueling's operations in Andalucía reaffirms our commitment to the region's connectivity to both national and international destinations, strengthening our leadership in Spain's connectivity," he said.

Bernal said that the objective of the regional government is to reconnect Andalucía with the world, by endorsing both nearby and long-distance markets. The head of tourism stated that "it is a great opportunity to demonstrate the potential of the destination, expand existing connections and offer new routes. In short, a stronger destination that is better connected with the rest of Spain and the world".

Pla reminded that Vueling was in possession of 12.5% of the market share in 2024 and that, in the twenty years of activity in the region, they have transported more than 65.2 million passengers, of which 49.6 million were clients of the domestic routes. This summer season, it is once again focusing on reinforcing connectivity in Spain, planning to transport one in every three passengers. "We have programmed one million additional seats in Spain, both to domestic and international destinations, which represents 6% more seats offered compared to last year. Of these, more than 250,000 seats will be on domestic flights, with a 3.2% increase in seats in the domestic market compared to the summer of 2024".

The airline issued a report on the socio-economic contribution to Andalucía, which confirms Vueling's impact on job creation, attracting tourism and boosting the local business fabric. Sandra Hors stated that "the airline has played a key role in Andalusian connectivity since its launch more than twenty years ago, contributing significantly to the socio-economic development of the region with 751 million euros to the Andalusian GDP, driving 25.6% of passenger flow and generating 12,521 jobs, which represents 4.2% of tourism employment in the region".