Airline withdraws plans for new East Midlands Airport route just weeks before first flight
The route has been cancelled “following a review”
A new route from East Midlands Airport has been cancelled just weeks before the first flight was due to take off.
SunExpress - a joint venture between Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa - was due to start its new route between East Midlands Airport and Antalya, Turkey, this Easter.
However, the airline has now confirmed that the route has been withdrawn.
A spokesperson for SunExpress said: “We can confirm that, following a review of our current commercial environment, we have decided not to launch services from East Midlands as previously planned.
“Passengers still have a wide choice of SunExpress UK departure airports to Türkiye, including Birmingham and Manchester.”
Jet2 is launching a further four new routes from East Midlands Airport this spring, including Chania, Greece and Pula, Croatia.
Passengers can also book flights to Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, after TUI reinstated the popular route.
A spokesperson for East Midlands Airport said: “We were looking forward to welcoming SunExpress as a new carrier at the airport but we understand the reasons behind their decision.
“We will continue to engage with them over future services.
“Antalya continues to be well served from East Midlands Airport by Jet2 and TUI and we’re expecting another strong summer season serving around 70 popular holiday destinations, bolstered by investment in new terminal shops, restaurants and other facilities which will improve the customer experience from Easter onwards.”