Bristol International Airport and South West travel agents are launching an offensive to tackle a shortage of seats following the collapse of XL.
They are appealing for an operator to step in and replace capacity to destinations such as Tenerife, Kefalonia, Corfu, Sharm el Sheikh, Larnaca and Lanzarote.
Patrick Murphy of Thorntons Travel in Bristol said: “Many of our customers insist on flying from Bristol International in order to avoid long journeys to airports outside the region, but reduced capacity means we are struggling to meet their requirements.
“That’s why we’ve teamed up with the airport to target potential operators who may be able to plug the gap.â€
The airport’s head of sales Jason Wescott said: “It is frustrating to hear that customers want to travel from Bristol International but simply can’t get the holidays.
‘We hope that by working with agents to find out exactly where there is demand for additional flights we can demonstrate the strength of the market in the South West to potential new operators.â€
He said the airport’s dedicated sales team will be working closely with local agents to provide tour operators with market data to demonstrate the business case for additional flights to a range of destinations.
By Bev Fearis
