Jet2 has announced the launch of flights and holidays to Tunisia for Summer 2027, operating to Enfidha–Hammamet International Airport from five UK airports: Birmingham, East Midlands, Leeds Bradford, Manchester, and London Stansted.

Services begin on May 1, 2027 from most airports and run through to late October 2027. Birmingham and Manchester will operate two weekly flights each, while East Midlands and Leeds Bradford will have weekly Saturday departures. London Stansted will offer two weekly flights on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Jet2holidays customers traveling to Tunisia will be able to choose from a range of three to five-star hotels in the resorts of Port el Kantaoui, Skanes, Mahdia, Sousse, Yasmine Hammamet, and Hammamet.

“With year-round sunshine, rich culture and fantastic sunshine, Tunisia has something for everyone and we know how immensely popular it will be,” said Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.

The addition of Tunisia brings Jet2’s Summer 2027 programme to over 70 destinations, alongside three other newly added destinations: Hurghada, Sharm el Sheikh, and Kavala (Thassos).

Fakhri Khalisi, Acting UK Director at the Tunisian National Tourist Office, welcomed the announcement as a significant milestone for the country’s tourism sector, describing Jet2’s entry into the Tunisian market as a sign of growing confidence from major travel operators.

The agreement was reached during a meeting between Balearic President Marga Prohens and Eurowings CEO Max Kownatzki in Palma. For the 2026/27 winter season, Eurowings plans to base six aircraft at Palma de Mallorca Airport for the first time — twice as many as two years ago — supporting the Balearic Government’s goal of spreading economic activity more evenly across the year.

The airline is also evaluating the development of technical maintenance infrastructure in Palma, which could create permanent, highly skilled jobs in aircraft maintenance and contribute to the growth of a technology-oriented business sector on the island. Workforce development and potential cooperation with local universities were also discussed.

“Eurowings brings not only visitors to the island but also highly qualified jobs,” said CEO Max Kownatzki. “Together, we want to create the conditions necessary to establish Mallorca more firmly as a destination for all four seasons.”

Eurowings has operated a base in Palma since 2017 and now employs nearly 1,000 people locally. During summer, the airline connects Mallorca to 26 airports with around 400 weekly flights, predominantly to and from Germany and Austria. The airline also operates Wings Handling, its own ground handling company on the island.

The initiative was announced at a gathering at Schiphol-East and builds on a strategic cooperation agreement signed approximately a year ago by KLM CEO Marjan Rintel and then State Secretary for Defence Gijs Tuinman. The programme aims to test the deployment of civilian technical personnel in a military maintenance environment, sharing expertise and strengthening the resilience of both organizations.

“At KLM, we have highly experienced technicians who work every day to ensure the safety of our fleet. It is valuable that, through this training, they can apply their expertise in a different environment while also gaining new knowledge,” said Mathieu Essenberg, EVP KLM Engineering & Maintenance.

Commodore Ellen Meeuwsen-Scholten, Director of Personnel at the Dutch Royal Air Force, highlighted the broader strategic value of the cooperation: “By giving technical personnel the opportunity to gain experience within Defence, we are building scalable capacity that can be deployed when the situation calls for it.”

Beyond the training programme, KLM and the Ministry of Defence are exploring deeper cooperation in component and engine maintenance, as well as the potential development of a dedicated military maintenance facility. Both parties are also examining how existing civil infrastructure at Schiphol-East and Schiphol-Rijk could be better utilized for joint purposes.

The APEX Best Awards are determined from more than one million passenger reviews, with travelers rating their flight experience across five categories: seat comfort, cabin service, food and beverages, entertainment, and Wi-Fi.

“KLM’s cabin crew is ready to offer travelers a warm welcome and personal attention, so they feel at home when traveling with KLM. The APEX Award for Best Cabin Service in Europe, an award entirely based on passenger reviews, is a wonderful recognition for our cabin crew,” said Bas Gerressen, Executive Vice President KLM Inflight Services.

The record translates to one Wizz Air flight taking off every 72 seconds on average, with over 4,000 crew members and thousands of engineers and operations staff involved. The milestone comes during one of the busiest summer travel periods on record, with Eurocontrol projecting European air traffic growth of around 2% compared to summer 2025, with some peak weeks running up to 5.1% higher.

The achievement reflects the continued expansion of Wizz Air’s fleet, which has now reached 267 aircraft — one of the youngest and most fuel-efficient in the industry. The growing fleet has enabled the airline to add new routes, increase frequencies, and extend its network to nearly 200 destinations across several continents.

“Operating 1,200 flights in one day is a proud moment for Wizz Air and is powered by our growing fleet of 267 state-of-the-art aircraft, our expanding network and, most importantly, the strong demand from passengers who continue to choose Wizz Air for affordable and reliable travel,” said Diarmuid O’Conghaile, Chief Operations Officer at Wizz Air.

In May 2026, Wizz Air delivered a 99.99% flight completion rate across its network, with 82.67% of flights arriving within 15 minutes of schedule.

growth

Before their arrival, on-board service had been provided exclusively by stewards, typically on short flights with limited passenger numbers. As the airline resumed operations following nationalization in 1945, longer routes — including the newly inaugurated Paris–New York service, which could last nearly 24 hours — and growing passenger volumes demanded a new approach to cabin service. The recruitment of female flight attendants was a direct response to these changes, with their role focused on passenger welfare, comfort, and the overall quality of the journey.

Over the following decades, the profession evolved significantly. In 1955, stewardesses and stewards were unified under the single designation of cabin crew. With the arrival of jet aircraft and wide-body planes, roles became more structured and specialized, and safety training became a central pillar of the profession alongside service. New positions such as Purser and Chief Purser emerged as crews grew larger and more organized.

Flight attendants also became central to Air France’s global image, with their uniforms designed over the years by some of France’s greatest fashion houses, including Dior, Balenciaga, Carven, and Christian Lacroix.

Eight decades after that first cohort of 11, Air France today employs more than 13,000 cabin crew members, including 8,800 women, continuing a tradition of service, safety, and elegance that has defined the airline’s identity around the world.

Among the highlights is a new twice-weekly service from Manchester to Cairo’s Sphinx Airport, launching November 9, which easyJet says will be the only direct connection between Manchester and the airport closest to the Pyramids of Giza and western Cairo. Cornwall Airport Newquay will also see its first-ever international route, with a weekly Saturday service to Geneva running from January 16 to February 27, 2027, making it the only direct link between Newquay and Switzerland.

Newcastle sees the largest expansion, with five new routes added — Barcelona, Hurghada, Copenhagen, Berlin, and Rovaniemi — bringing the airport’s total easyJet network to 31 routes, quadrupling the airline’s presence since it launched its Newcastle base in March 2026.

Other new services include London Luton to Kittilä and Strasbourg, London Southend to Edinburgh, Birmingham to Copenhagen, Liverpool to Reykjavik and Kittilä.

The full schedule of new routes is as follows, all operating twice weekly unless stated:

Newcastle–Barcelona from October 25 (£28.99),
London Southend–Edinburgh from October 25 (£23.99),
Newcastle–Hurghada from October 27 (£121.99),
Liverpool–Reykjavik from November 2 (£43.99),
Newcastle–Copenhagen from November 5 (£32.49),
Manchester–Cairo from November 9 (£131.99),
Birmingham–Copenhagen from November 16 (£31.99),
Newcastle–Berlin from November 20 (£45.99),
London Luton–Kittilä from November 24 (£42.99),
Liverpool–Kittilä from November 25 (£30.99),
Newcastle–Rovaniemi from November 25 (£42.99),
London Luton–Strasbourg four times weekly from November 29 (£54.99),
Newquay–Geneva weekly from January 16 (£37.99).

The mobile prototype is housed in a container approximately twelve metres long. It draws in ambient air through a powerful fan, passes it through an advanced industrial filtration system to capture fine and ultrafine particles, and releases purified air from the rear. The device operates for several hours daily between 08:00 and 20:00. The second test phase will run until the end of September 2026.

A first test phase was conducted from December 2025 to March 2026, with air quality measurements carried out by the Scientific Institute of Public Service (ISSeP) and the Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO). Initial results were described as positive.

“According to the initial results, it is a promising technology that can make a difference for our staff and local residents,” said Arnaud Feist, CEO of Brussels Airport.

The device was developed by Safran Aero Boosters, drawing on expertise from its engine test bench operations, with support from the Walloon Region. Research partners including KMA Filter, the University of Liège, the von Karman Institute, and GD Tech were involved in the first phase.

The project forms part of Brussels Airport’s European Stargate programme, a Green Deal initiative for more sustainable aviation, funded in part by the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme.

A total of 35 contracts have been announced, covering F&B spaces, kiosk and convenience stores, and self-service solutions. Contract durations will run for either five or seven years. The airports included in the tender are Bergen, Trondheim, Kristiansand, Ålesund, Harstad/Narvik, Molde, Kristiansund, and Alta.

The tender aims to broaden the passenger offering with clearer concept differentiation, faster service options, and a mix of well-known Norwegian and international brands alongside local operators where appropriate. Avinor describes the process as a strategic step to improve the airport experience while also securing commercial revenues that help finance its nationwide airport network.

“The F&B offering is an essential part of how travellers experience the airport — especially in situations where time, accessibility and convenience are vital,” said Iskra Skram, VP Commercial Development Terminal at Avinor.

The combined passenger base across the eight airports was 53 million in 2025 and is expected to grow to 56 million by the time the new contracts begin. Avinor is seeking operators with a strong customer focus, operational reliability, and the ability to adapt to the high-volume, fast-paced airport retail environment.

The inaugural ceremony took place at Terminal 1 of Milano Malpensa Airport and was attended by Li Duo, General Manager of Air China, Cheng Xuan, President of CCCIT, and Zhang Chenggang, Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Milan.

The new route is operated daily using an Airbus A330-300 and brings Air China’s total network from Malpensa to four Chinese destinations, alongside its existing services to Beijing Capital, Shanghai, and Chengdu.

The launch strengthens air connectivity between Italy and China at a time of growing interest in expanding economic, commercial, and tourism ties between the two countries. For Milano Malpensa, the addition reinforces its position as Northern Italy’s primary international gateway and a key hub for intercontinental traffic.