New flights from Gibraltar to Bilbao this summer, Govt confirms

A new twice weekly route connecting Gibraltar to Bilbao is set to begin this July, the Gibraltar Government and Volotea announced on Thursday.
The new connection will be operational between July and September 2021, on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Volotea is an airline for small and medium-sized European cities and the connection will be operated by an Airbus A319.
It will start on July 2 offering around 8,200 seats and Volotea will be the only airline to connect Gibraltar with a Spanish city.
"True to our vocation, we want to continue to connect small and medium- sized cities with great flexibility and to do so with maximum safety," said Carlos Muñoz, Founder and CEO of Volotea.
"We are very happy to be able to announce the opening of this new route that seeks to satisfy a demand that was not being met."
Volotea said it guarantees a safe experience, with strict protocols and sanitary measures certified by Bureau Veritas.
Volotea offers a free deferral of tickets, up to 7 days before departure, for any departure up to 30 September 2021 and confirmed up to 30 April 2021.
Flight schedules are subject to health conditions and restrictions imposed by the authorities of European countries and may be subject to change.
“I welcome the announcement made today by Volotea on the start of flights from Bilbao, Spain to Gibraltar for the summer of 2021," the Minister for Tourism and Transport Vijay Daryanani said.
"I am delighted to see the addition of yet another carrier serving Gibraltar and a new route that opens up a completely new catchment area from another country. I am sure that this announcement will be welcomed by our tourism industry in Gibraltar and our business community, as this service creates further opportunities to attract visitors to Gibraltar. I am also sure that those living in Gibraltar and in the region will welcome the chance to visit Bilbao and its surrounding areas. This will assist in generating even more shared prosperity for this area.”
Volotea was founded in 2011 by Carlos Muñoz and Lázaro Ros, previously founders of Vueling, and is one of the fastest-growing independent airlines in Europe, increasing year-on-year its fleet, routes served, and seats offered. Since its start, Volotea has carried more than 30 million passengers across Europe.