Airport News
with Robbie Shaw
Robbie Shaw lives near Gatwick where he was an Air Traffic Controller and travels regularly to his place in Collioure. His wife describes him as an ‘aviation geek’, just what we need in fact. 🙂
He travels all over the world photographing aircraft, and also keeps you up to date with flights between this region and UK & Irish airports, and any other airport news that seems relevant.
WINTER 2023
This covers the winter schedules period from Sunday 29 October till Saturday 30 March but bear in mind that airlines constantly change schedules according to demand, so there is a good chance that several that I have listed will be out of date by the time you read this, as these details were researched in August/September 2023.
My best suggestion is to constantly monitor the airline websites yourself.
Car hire prices are still higher than they really should be, and it does vary country by country. Ireland is still ridiculously high. The main reason apparently due to the shortage of cars caused by a shortage of computer chips.
FRANCE
PERPIGNAN
Come on Ryanair. Take your blinkers off. There’s a large ex pat British community in the P-O and not a single winter flight to the UK.
BEZIERS
Like Carcassonne, Ryanair has a free run at this small airport.
| From | N° of weekly flights | Airline |
| LUTON | 2 | RYANAIR 29 Oct–27 March |
CARCASSONNE
Ryanair remains the sole operator here. Last September my wife flew Carcassonne-Cork, booking only a few week’s notice – the fare was €15 ! This winter Manchester and Stansted are the sole survivors of this summer’s destinations served.
| From | N° of weekly flights | Airline |
| MANCHESTER | 2 | RYANAIR 30 Oct-30 March |
| STANSTED | 2 | RYANAIR 29 Oct-29 March |
MONTPELLIER
EasyJet operate from both Gatwick and Luton, the latter only for a short summer period. The British Airways thrice weekly Gatwick service which was operated by their Gatwick subsidiary British Airways Euroflyer in the summer months is not operating this winter.
| From | N° of weekly flights | Airline |
| GATWICK | 7
| EASYJET 29 Oct-30 March |
NIMES
Ryanair is the sole operator for P-O readers during the summer but no flights at all in winter.
TOULOUSE / BLAGNAC
There tends to be more flights to Toulouse from UK regional airport in the winter due to skiing opportunities, with Andorra not too far away.
| From | N° of weekly flights | Airline |
| BIRMINGHAM | 2 | RYANAIR 29 Oct-29 March |
| BRISTOL | 4 | EASYJET 29 Oct-30 March |
| EDINBURGH | 2 | RYANAIR 30 Oct-30 March |
| GATWICK | 2–7 | EASYJET 29Oct-30 March |
| HEATHROW | 21-27 | BRITISH AWYS 29 Oct-30 Mar |
| STANSTED | 2 | RYANAIR 29 Oct-30 Oct |
| DUBLIN | 7 2 | AER LINGUS 29 Sep–30 March RYANAIR 29 Oct-27 March |
SPAIN
BARCELONA / EL PRAT
As always a huge variety of flights to Barcelona, most of which run all year round, but with seasonal increases.
For those unfamiliar, take care on the Barcelona ring-road, one wrong turn could be very time consuming.
A new winter service is Cork, and plenty flights from Stansted. Still does not compare with the 80 weekly flights from Gatwick or the 60 from Heathrow.
| From | N° of weekly flights | Airline |
| BIRMINGHAM | 2 8 3 | JET2 29 Oct-31 March RYANAIR 29 Oct-30 March VUELING 29 Oct-30 March |
| BRISTOL | 3-12 4 | EASYJET 29 Oct-30 March RYANAIR 29 Oct-30 March |
| EAST MIDLANDS | 3 | RYANAIR 29 Oct-29 March |
| EDINBURGH | 9 2 | RYANAIR 29 Oct-30 Oct VUELING 29 Oct-30 March |
| GATWICK | 26 54 | EASYJET 29 Oct-30March VUELING 29 Oct-30 March |
| GLASGOW INT’L | 2 | EASYJET 29 Oct-31 March |
| HEATHROW | 60 | BRITISH AWYS 29 Oct-30 Mar |
| LEEDS BRADFORD | 2 2 | JET2 29 Oct-27 November JET2 09 Feb-29 March
|
| LIVERPOOL | 2 | EASYJET 29 Oct-29 March RYANAIR 30 Oct-30 March |
| LUTON | 11 3 | EASYJET 29 Oct-30 March RYANAIR 27 Oct-30 March |
| MANCHESTER | 2-4 3 11 7 | JET2 29 Oct-31 March EASYJET 29 Oct-31 March RYANAIR 29 Oct-30 March VUELING 29 Oct-30 March |
| NEWCASTLE | 2 | RYANAIR 30 Oct-29 March |
| STANSTED | 28 | RYANAIR 29 Oct-30 March |
| CORK | 2 | RYANAIR 29 Oct-27 March |
| DUBLIN | 11 2 6 | AER LINGUS 29 Oct–30 March. RYANAIR 29 Oct-30 March VUELING 29 Oct-30 March |
GIRONA
In the last couple of years there had been a big increase in flights to Girona. No doubt passenger confidence in the Boeing 737MAX will have taken a battering after two crashes, and the type being grounded for a considerable time.
To counter this Ryanair has renamed the 737-MAX8 as the 737-8200, and many are now in service, with more to come.
Jet2 who suddenly found the airport a few years ago operated services to a number of UK regional airports, but in the winter months these have disappeared.
There are no Ryanair flights at all to Ireland in the winter, some have switched to Barcelona. Similarly a huge reduction in UK flights compared to the summer.
| From | N° of weekly flights | Airline |
| BELFAST | 2 | RYANAIR 30 Oct-30 March |
| BIRMINGHAM | 2 | RYANAIR 30 Oct-30 March |
| STANSTED | 2 | RYANAIR 30 Oct-29 March |
**Please note that these are the average number of flights per week, and will be variable in the shoulder and peak seasons, that is why you will sometimes see a minimum and maximum number listed. If you think I have missed any, please contact me on info@anglophone-direct.com. Please do bear in mind airline schedules fluctuate.**
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Public transport options
Bus/Train ……. The airport bus from Perpignan railway station takes about 20 mins and runs regularly from around 06.30 to 19.30 Mon to Sat, with a much reduced service on Suns and Holidays.
Taxi..…..3 taxi firms have the right to use the forecourt at Perpignan airport. Prices average about 2€50 per km, so fares for single trips to coastal resorts and the Alberes/Vallespir can be eye-watering !
Car..…… PGF is north of the city near Rivesaltes. Since the recent modernisation, parking supply is ample and costs around 40€ per week.
Bus/Train.….you can travel to Carcassonne railway station from almost any station in P-O, but must usually change at Narbonne. From Carcassonne, there is a shuttle bus that individually connects with each flight departure and arrival. Single fare 5€.
Car.……The airport is right by jcn 23 of the A61 autoroute. There are 3 car parks: short, medium and long stay, and a week in the latter costs 40€.
BEZIERS
Bus/Train…….All trains from PO stations to Montpellier and beyond stop at Beziers. From there, there is a shuttle bus that individually connects with each departing and arriving flight. Single fare 1€60.
Car. …..the airport is close to jcn 35 of the A9 autoroute. There is ample parking right next to the terminal and costs 40€ per week.
www.aena.es/en/girona-costa-brava-airport
Bus/train ……… Not an easy airport to access by public transport anymore. A train from Perpignan will take you to Girona station, the easiest option from there being a taxi at around 40 euros. ( price not confirmed).
You can also take a bus to the airport from Girona’s bus station, not far from train station to the Girona Buses run every hour & travel time is 26 minutes. Check bus schedules HERE
Pick up Flixbus directly to the airport from Perpignan. Prices are reasonable but timetable can be constrictive
Car.…….The airport is right by jcn 8 of the AP7 autopista. Several car parking companies exist both on and off the airport, and the official on-airport car park do regular promotions. For example, at the time of writing, a prebooked stay of 7 to 20 days costs a flat 42€.
www.aena.es/en/barcelona-airport
Train……. The new Barcelona Metro line L9 now serves both Terminal 1 and 2 but only from stations south of the city so is of limited use if coming from P-O . The suburban train R2 Nord runs from Sants station in the city every half hour, but serves only T2 . As regards accessing Barcelona by rail from P-O, there are 4 trains to/from Perpignan daily direct to Sants station, but unfortunately the earliest of these arrives Sants at 12.38 and the latest departs Sants at 16.45. A better bet is Figueres Vilafant (AVE) station which offers a virtually hourly service to Sants from 06.30 to 21.00 daily.
Bus….. The Aerobus runs from the Plaza de Catalunya in Barcelona city centre all day every 5 minutes to Terminal 1 and every 10 mins to Terminal 2. Perpicat run one morning service direct to Barcelona airport at a single fare of 50€ . There is a free green shuttle bus between terminals.
Car.…… Barcelona airport is on the south of the city just off the C31 autovia. I find that, generally, easiest access is via the AP7 toll road, continuing round the city onto the A2 autovia as far as the C31. Reckon on 2h15 mins from Le Boulou. Once there, parking options are vast. As a rule of thumb, the nearer the airport terminal, the more you’ll pay, but even at popular times you should need to pay no more than 8€ per day. I recommend looking at the official airport site, as there are often deals and promotions. For example at the time of writing prebooked up to 20 day stays in the main T1 multi storey just 3 minutes walk from the terminal were only 75€ ! Another option, particularly if you are catching an early flight is using one of the 4 local hotels that offer free shuttle buses direct to the terminals. You can leave your car free by the hotel, and usually rooms are available booking in advance for about 70€ . Try www.booking.com for details.
In Perpignan our problem is that the airport is run by the same company as Carcassonne – so no competition and Ryanair obviously is given better incentives to land there!
It’s a pity they don’t even put one English flight a week but as that isn’t the case I now prefer to fly from Girona – no motorway tolls in Spain and if you book a car parking space in advance, it is quite reasonable (if I remember correctly it was 48 euros for 10 days or maybe two weeks)