easyJet is gearing up for a landmark year in 2026, unveiling a significantly expanded flight network that now brings France firmly into the spotlight alongside established favorites such as Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany and Greece. With new routes from a growing number of UK bases, increased frequencies to classic sun destinations and a broader mix of city and beach gateways, the low cost carrier is positioning itself as one of the most influential drivers of outbound tourism from the United Kingdom. For British travelers, the 2026 programme unlocks a wider spread of affordable, short haul options than ever before, underpinning a crucial phase of recovery and reinvention for Europe’s tourism economies.
A Record-Breaking 2026 Network Built Around UK Demand
The backbone of easyJet’s latest expansion is its decision to put an unprecedented volume of 2026 flying on sale early, giving UK holidaymakers the chance to lock in fares well ahead of peak booking periods. Through its Big Seat Release for summer 2026, the airline has placed more than 29 million seats on sale across over 161,000 flights between mid June and mid September, including around 15.6 million seats on UK routes alone. This comes on top of a separate release of over 138,000 spring 2026 flights, which cover the key Easter and early summer period.
For tourism businesses across Europe, these numbers are not just abstract capacity figures. They translate directly into bookable holidays for British travelers heading to 160 destinations across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, with France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany and Greece among the biggest beneficiaries. By locking in such a large programme from 22 UK airports, easyJet is sending a strong signal that demand for short haul leisure travel will remain robust and that the UK will continue to be a cornerstone outbound market for the region.
The airline is also complementing its flight-only schedule with thousands of package options through easyJet holidays, pairing flights with hotels and, for beach breaks, transfers and luggage. This integrated offering is particularly significant for regional airports where traditional tour operator presence has diminished, helping to keep outbound tourism from the UK’s nations and regions competitive with London.
France Steps Into the Limelight With New Connections
While Spain, Portugal and Italy have long dominated UK low cost networks, the 2026 programme puts France more firmly on the map. New routes and increased frequencies are creating fresh city break and beach options while deepening connectivity into the country’s classic holiday regions. Notably, new services from London Stansted to Paris Charles de Gaulle are scheduled to begin operating in March 2026, giving another direct link from the UK’s southeast to the French capital and adding further competition on one of Europe’s most important city pairs.
In the north of England, the expansion of easyJet’s presence at Newcastle is particularly important. The carrier is preparing to open a full base at the airport and has confirmed an initial wave of 11 new routes for summer 2026, including a direct service to Nice that will connect holidaymakers in northeast England with the French Riviera. From Bristol and Birmingham, new flights to Nice will further strengthen access to the Cote d’Azur, creating a cluster of French coastal options that complement the capital’s city break draw.
These developments give France an upgraded role in easyJet’s leisure strategy. Rather than relying solely on Paris or a handful of ski gateways, the airline is systematically adding routes that open up the French Mediterranean, the Atlantic coast and key cultural cities. For UK tourism flows, the result is likely to be a more even distribution of visitors across French regions, helping spread economic benefits beyond traditional hotspots and peak dates.
Southern Europe Remains the Heart of easyJet’s Tourism Strategy
Alongside France’s elevated profile, the 2026 network confirms that Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece remain the core pillars of easyJet’s summer strategy. From Newcastle, new services to Faro in Portugal, Reus in Spain and Greek islands such as Rhodes and Corfu will significantly widen the choice of sun and beach destinations available to travelers in the northeast of England. Elsewhere in the network, routes to Mediterranean favorites like Palma, Alicante and the Algarve feature heavily in the summer schedule and sales promotions.
Italy is also a major winner. easyJet is adding fresh capacity to cities such as Bari and Naples, as well as Rome Fiumicino, with new routes from regional UK airports including Bristol, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Newcastle. These flights not only cater for classic summer beach and culture breaks but also tap into a growing appetite for twin center itineraries that combine coastal stays with historic cities, supported by Italy’s rail links and domestic air network.
In Greece, the carrier’s 2026 programme introduces and expands routes to destinations including Thessaloniki, Rhodes, Corfu and Preveza, further cementing its role in carrying UK holidaymakers to the Aegean and Ionian seas. These Greek links are vital for local economies that rely heavily on British visitors and for UK travelers seeking value, sunshine and a mix of island-hopping and resort stays.
Germany, Malta and Emerging Destinations Gain Momentum
The network build for 2026 is not confined to classic Mediterranean markets. Germany is set to benefit from a new route between London Southend and Munich, adding another gateway for British travelers keen on cultural city breaks, Bavarian landscapes or onward rail travel to Alpine resorts. This diversification supports a broader spread of tourism flows away from purely sun and beach demand and into urban and year round destinations.
Malta continues its rise as a compact, culture-rich island destination supported by easyJet’s growing programme. New flights from UK regional airports, including Newcastle, are widening the catchment area for Maltese tourism beyond London and the southeast. For British tourists, this makes short breaks and off season trips more accessible, particularly when paired with competitive accommodation pricing outside the main summer peak.
Beyond the traditional European markets, easyJet is also pressuring competitors through new links to destinations such as Egypt’s Red Sea coast, Tunisia, Turkey and Cape Verde, while continuing to serve central European cities like Prague and Ljubljana. For UK travelers, this combination offers a spectrum of options, from familiar resorts to more adventurous or culturally distinctive locations, without sacrificing price competitiveness or flight duration.
Regional UK Bases Drive a New Phase of Tourism Decentralisation
A standout feature of the 2026 expansion is the heavy emphasis on regional UK airports. Newcastle, Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh and London Southend are all seeing new routes, helping to decentralise outbound tourism from London and the southeast. This strategy is not entirely new for easyJet, but the scale of the current expansion marks a significant leap in ambition, especially with the establishment and strengthening of new bases.
At Newcastle, easyJet’s new base, due to open in March 2026, is central to this shift. More than doubling the number of destinations on offer from the airport, the carrier is planning routes across Portugal, Spain, France, Greece, Malta, Egypt, Turkey, Tunisia and the Czech Republic. For local travelers, this will sharply reduce the need to travel long distances to larger airports in search of affordable sun and city flights. For destinations, it opens direct access to a catchment area that has traditionally been under-served.
Similar stories are playing out at Birmingham, Bristol and London Southend, where new services to cities like Nice, Rome, Munich and Paris are helping to rebalance connectivity. This has important implications for UK domestic tourism patterns as well, as better outbound options can be matched with inbound opportunities, enabling these airports to serve as gateways in both directions for visitors exploring Britain and for residents heading overseas.
Economic Implications for UK Tourism and European Destinations
The growth of easyJet’s network for 2026 has direct economic implications for the UK travel industry and its European partners. On the UK side, the addition of new aircraft, bases and routes supports thousands of jobs in aviation, airport operations, ground handling, hospitality and retail. Newcastle’s new base alone is expected to support over a thousand jobs in the region, underscoring the wider employment impact of airline expansion beyond the immediate tourism sector.
For European destinations, the availability of more low cost capacity from the UK is essential for sustaining and expanding visitor numbers, particularly outside peak summer months. Easy advance booking windows for flights stretching from spring through to autumn 2026 allow hotels, attractions and local tourism boards in countries like France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany and Greece to plan marketing campaigns, events and staffing around a relatively reliable pipeline of British visitors.
There is also a competitive dimension. As airlines like easyJet and its rivals add routes and discount fares, travelers benefit from downward pressure on prices and an upward trend in overall service choice. For tourism boards, the challenge will be to ensure that this influx of capacity is matched with sustainable visitor management, investment in infrastructure and promotion of off peak travel to reduce the strain on popular hotspots during high season.
A New Era of Choice for British Holidaymakers
For British travelers planning holidays in 2026, the practical outcome of easyJet’s network expansion is a marked increase in flexibility. The timetable offers more departure points, more flight days and a broader spectrum of durations, making it easier to plan everything from quick weekend city breaks in Paris, Munich or Rome to longer family stays in the Algarve, the Balearics or the Greek islands.
Early schedule releases and promotional campaigns featuring discounted fares through the Big Orange Sale and other offers are encouraging customers to plan ahead, locking in lower prices before demand peaks. With many of the new routes operating twice or more weekly, travelers can tailor trips around school holidays, bank holidays and personal schedules rather than being forced into rigid seven or fourteen night stays.
For those looking beyond the most familiar destinations, the addition of routes to places such as Montpellier, Preveza, Ljubljana or Prague provides a springboard for more exploratory travel, while still benefitting from low cost pricing and straightforward booking through the airline’s website and app. This mix of mainstream and emerging destinations is likely to be a key factor in keeping the UK outbound market vibrant and adaptable in the face of changing traveler preferences.
What the Expansion Signals for the Future of UK–Europe Travel
EasyJet’s 2026 network strategy sends a clear message about the future of short haul travel between the UK and continental Europe. By consolidating its position across core markets like France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany and Greece, while also nurturing new routes and regional bases, the carrier is betting that British demand for affordable European travel will remain resilient despite economic headwinds and evolving environmental debates.
The emphasis on France within this broader expansion is particularly symbolic. With enhanced connectivity to Paris and new links to coastal cities such as Nice and Montpellier, France is poised to share more of the limelight with Mediterranean rivals when British travelers consider their next holiday. For tourism authorities on both sides of the Channel, the challenge and opportunity lies in harnessing this increased connectivity to promote more sustainable, higher value travel and to encourage visitors to look beyond the most obvious hotspots.
As the 2026 schedules continue to fill out and bookings gather pace, it is clear that easyJet’s enlarged network will play a central role in shaping where and how Britons travel next year. For tourism stakeholders from the UK to the Mediterranean and beyond, the airline’s latest expansion round is both a barometer of confidence and a call to get ready for another busy season of orange-tailed jets linking British cities with the beaches, boulevards and boulevards of Europe.