Latest news and information  from GLA             last update: 31 January 2012

The airline also provide five flights a week between Cork and Glasgow.

With a flying time of around one hour between Dublin and Glasgow International, fares start at just £24.99 including tax at www.aerlingus.com

The service, which was introduced in 2006, was popular with Scotland's 50,000-strong Pakistani community and its loss has forced many passengers to travel to Manchester or London to catch alternative flights.

Restoration of the direct Pakistan route would be a major boon to Glasgow's long-haul network, after Emirates announced an additional daily flight to Dubai earlier this month.

A spokesman for Glasgow Airport said "Pakistan International Airlines' direct flight between Glasgow and Lahore was first introduced in 2006 and was hugely popular, carrying almost 30,000 passengers every year until its withdrawal in January 2011. There is still a strong demand for the route and we would lend our support to the calls for its re-introduction." Read a full report at The Herald

Barrhead Travel and British Airways CityFlyer have arranged summer weekend charter flights to Venice and Barcelona flying direct from Glasgow in addition to their seasonal Malaga and Palma flights. www.barrheadtravel.co.uk

A number of other airlines including Virgin, Thomas Cook, British Airways and US Airways responded to passenger demand throughout 2011 by adding capacity on existing popular routes.

Francois Bourienne, commercial director at Glasgow Airport, said: “Despite the challenging economic climate, we experienced a renewed confidence among passengers and airlines in 2011 and we were successful in introducing new routes, including direct services to a number of major European cities.

“Expanding Glasgow Airport’s route network will remain our main focus for 2012 and we have already made a strong start to the year with the news Emirates Airline will introduce a second daily non-stop flight to Dubai, commencing 1 June 2012. Jet2.com will launch direct flights to Rome and Barcelona in March, so there is much to be excited about.

“We are under no illusion that maintaining passenger growth in 2012 will be a challenge, especially if Chancellor George Osborne proceeds with plans to increase Air Passenger Duty (APD) in April’s budget and we also have concerns about the fragility of the economy and the rising price of fuel. In spite of this, we will continue to work closely with our airline and city partners to deliver new routes and promote the in-bound tourism potential of Glasgow.”

Emirates Airline has announced plans to introduce a second daily non-stop flight from Glasgow to Dubai, commencing 1 June 2012.

The additional flight, coupled with an aircraft upgrade on the existing service, will increase Emirates’ capacity from Glasgow by 47 per cent, an extra 398 seats per day (199 each way). It will also see the introduction of a First Class cabin onto both daily services, the first time this has been offered by a commercial airline from Scotland. It will also provide an additional 13 tonnes of daily cargo capacity, a 59 per cent uplift on existing volumes and provider shorter connections to a range of worldwide destinations including Australia and New Zealand.

Commenting on the new service, Amanda McMillan, managing director of Glasgow Airport, said: “Since its launch in 2004, Emirates’ Dubai route has proved hugely successful with business and leisure passengers and its decision to introduce a second daily service is fantastic news for both Glasgow Airport and Scotland as a whole.   Read more here

From their international hub in Dubai, Emirates offer great connecting opportunities to popular destination in the Middle East, Far East, Australasia, Indian Ocean islands, Africa, India and Pakistan. Flights from Glasgow are on board state-of-the-art 434 seat Boeing 777-300ER aircraft and from June until January, the four engined Airbus 340 will operate the evening flight before being replaced by the larger Boeing 777. For information and reservations, visit www.emirates.com/uk.

For great fares and more information visit the company's UK website at www.flysunwings.co.uk

Glasgow Airport will not be sold off after owner BAA announced that it is putting Edinburgh Airport on the market.

Following the Competition Commission’s decision requiring BAA to sell either Edinburgh or Glasgow airport, BAA announced that it has decided to sell Edinburgh airport and keep Glasgow airport as part of the BAA group.

Amanda McMillan, Managing Director of Glasgow Airport, said: “Clearly we welcome today’s announcement as it marks the end of what has been a prolonged period of uncertainty. Now a final decision has been reached we can concentrate our efforts on ensuring Glasgow Airport, as part of BAA, continues to deliver for its passengers, the city and Scotland as a whole.”

Gordon Matheson, leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “We are very pleased this long-running issue has finally been resolved. The decision is a clear vote of confidence in the airport and recognises its tremendous potential for growth.”

Derek Mackay SNP MSP for Renfrewshire North and West, which includes Glasgow Airport, said it was good news for Glasgow and west Scotland. He said: “This confirms BAA will continue with its growth plan for Glasgow Airport. It gives us a certainty the owner will invest as it said it would.”

Colin Matthews, BAA chief executive, said: “Glasgow Airport has great opportunities for growth and development and we think BAA is well-placed to build on its recent success.”

BA also have frequent flights from Glasgow to London City and Gatwick. More on BA's expanding London to Glasgow services below.

Icelandair have decoupled their Glasgow and Manchester to Reykjavik triangular route to serve both UK cities non stop. Glasgow passengers will enjoy the convenience of three direct flights a week, non-stop in both directions to and from Iceland.

The Icelandair route is popular for onward connections and great fares to North America. Destinations available via the Reykjavik hub include Toronto, Seattle, Boston, New York, Orlando, Washington DC and the new addition of Denver. www.icelandair.co.uk
 

Jet2 have announced more new flights from their Glasgow base - this time to the Greek Islands. Weekly flights and holidays to Crete and Rhodes begin on 22 and 23 May respectively.

Packaged holidays to Crete and Rhodes start from £319 per person for seven nights at Jet2holidays.com

Flight only starts from £71.99 one way including taxes. In addition to friendly flight times, allocated seating and a generous 22kg luggage allowance, Glasgow passengers can enjoy optional extras including on demand in flight entertainment and delicious three course meals. For the best fares book in advance at www.jet2.com. More on Jet2's expanding Glasgow flights below.

Loganair, Scotland’s Airline, has announced that it is to introduce non-stop services between Glasgow and Newquay Cornwall Airport from Thursday 5 April 2012.

The move follows the closure of Plymouth-based airline Air Southwest, which had placed long-standing air links between Glasgow and Cornwall at risk.

Up to five weekly non-stop flights will be provided on the route, maintaining the direct link between Glasgow and Cornwall with a travel time of just one hour and 40 minutes, compared to 11-hour train or nine-hour road journeys. Fares will start at £64.99 one-way including all taxes, which represents a competitive option versus rail fares.

A new service linking Glasgow with Donegal took to the air in November.

Loganair operates its services under a franchise agreement with Flybe, Europe’s largest regional airline. Seats for the new route will go on sale from Wednesday 28 September via www.flybe.com.

Eastern Airways have launched a new service between Glasgow and Stavanger in Norway. Fares on the service which operates three days a week start from £99 one way, including taxes and charges. The new service will prove popular with oil related business passengers as well as Scottish and Norwegian tourists.

Monday and Wednesday flights will leave Stavanger at 9.20am and arrive in Glasgow at 9.50am. Departure from Glasgow is at 10.20am and arrival in Stavanger scheduled for 1.20pm.

On Fridays, flights will depart Stavanger at 10am and arrive in Glasgow at 10.30pm. Friday services take off from Glasgow at 11am and land in Stavanger at 1.30pm. www.easternairways.com

KLM have added a fifth daily flight on the Amsterdam - Glasgow service. KLM often have the best fares and the most convenient transfers for passengers flying from Glasgow to the world via their hub at Schiphol. www.flyklm.com

The Dutch airline marked 65 years of serving Scotland with a special visit of their vintage DC-3, PH-PBA. This classic aircraft first flew in 1944 and served during the Second World War. Her arrival from Lelystad with dignitaries on board was greeted at Glasgow Airport by a water cannon salute. Read more.

Jet2 have announce new flights between Glasgow and Rome for summer 2012. Direct flights to the Italian capital will operate three times a week from 29 March with fares starting from £29.99 one way.

This news from Jet2 follows hot on the heels of the announcement of four more new routes from their new Glasgow base: Flights to Barcelona will operate thrice weekly; Malaga, up to four times a week; Ibiza twice a week and Lanzarote weekly. These new flights begin with the summer 2012 season at the end of March. 

Also newly announced is a special 3-day Christmas shopping trip flight to New York which departs Glasgow on 17th November. Return air fares start at under £400 and three-day packages with flights and hotel from £599. Get more information or grab Big Apple break at Jet2.com and Jet2holidays.com

Jet2.com only began flying from their new base at Glasgow Airport this year with summer flights to the holiday hotspots of Nice Cote d'Azur, Tenerife, Faro, Paphos, Dalaman, Alicante and Palma. Flights to Geneva are also available during the ski season from December until late April 2012.
 

Iberia Regional - operated by Air Nostrum - the franchise partner of Iberia have announced a brand new service between Glasgow and Madrid. Flights to the Spanish capital - a first for Glasgow - will go every Tuesday and Thursday from 1 November with fares from £130 return. Connections onto Iberia's comprehensive South American network are available at the airline's Madrid hub. www.iberia.com

easyJet have announced the launch of a new route between Glasgow and Amsterdam. The low-fares airline will operate a daily flight to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport from 31 October 2011, with fares starting from £25.99 (one way including taxes). 

This announcement follows the news that easyJet are boosting capacity at Glasgow Airport by adding a fourth rotation on the London Gatwick service, with the extra early morning flight aimed at business passengers, and a three-weekly summer service to Jersey as well as using the larger Airbus 320 on many of the flights. This summer easyJet - Glasgow's biggest airline -  are flying to Paris, Berlin, Ibiza, Majorca, Malaga, Alicante, Faro, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, Belfast, Bristol and now Jersey, with fares from £21.99.
 

BA CityFlyer provide the quick route to London. Situated just 10 miles from the West End and close to Canary Wharf, LCY is convenient for visiting the capital on business or for pleasure as an alternative to Heathrow. Approximately 11,000 passengers a month are now enjoying the added simplicity and convenience of using this handy service for accessing London, The City, Canary Wharf and Docklands areas. Flight between Glasgow and London City are onboard the comfortable 98-seat Embraer 190 aircraft.

This winter's British Airways schedule between Glasgow and London consists of up to 9 flights a day to and from Heathrow, 5 to London City and 4 to Gatwick. www.ba.com
 

US Airways, who extended the season on their summer service to Philadelphia this year, will return for the summer 2012 season. The airline fly right through from the start of May until the end of October. Flights operate up to seven times a week over the season and provide great onward connections throughout the USA and beyond to the Caribbean, Canada and South and Central America. www.usairways.com
 

Thomas Cook Airlines whose brands include Airtours, Club 18-30 and Direct Holidays are Scotland's biggest tour operator. They offer the widest choice of holidays to popular destinations in the Caribbean, Mexico, Florida, Canada, Egypt, Tunisia, Bulgaria, Portugal, Madeira, the Canaries and the Mediterranean including Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and Malta - all flying direct from Glasgow.  www.thomascook.com
 

Virgin Holidays:  The 2012 programme to Orlando, Florida will mirror that of summer 2011 which was a greatly increased schedule with up to 2 weekly flights operating all summer season from April to October onboard their Boeing 747-400 "Jumbo Jets" and brand new Airbus 330 aircraft. These flights are available at Virgin Atlantic and package holidays and fly-drives are available direct from Virgin Holidays.