After a ten-year hiatus, Luxair has relaunched nonstop flights between Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport and Luxembourg Findel, providing the Costa Blanca with a direct connection to one of Europe’s wealthiest financial hubs. The service, inaugurated on 15 June, will operate twice weekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays throughout the summer and, for the first time, continue during the winter season. The 2-hour-15-minute route is being flown with 186-seat Boeing 737-800 aircraft configured for both economy and business travellers. Alicante airport operator AENA says the link could inject €25 million into the regional economy by attracting high-spending Luxembourgish tourists and facilitating face-to-face meetings for the growing cluster of fintech and real-estate investors with assets in Spain’s southeast. For corporate mobility managers, the new flights cut door-to-door journey times by up to four hours compared with previous itineraries via Madrid or Brussels, and eliminate a connection risk during the busy summer period. Luxair is offering through-ticketing on Lufthansa Group and TAP Portugal networks, meaning travellers can connect in Luxembourg to long-haul destinations without reclaiming baggage. The move forms part of Luxair’s Iberian expansion, which has also added Bilbao and La Palma this year. A formal marketing agreement with the Valencian regional tourism board includes joint digital campaigns and a “remote-working in the sun” product aimed at Luxembourg-based professionals able to spend winters in Spain under the digital-nomad visa. With Alicante’s passenger volumes already 7 percent above 2019 levels, AENA believes maintaining the route year-round will support the airport’s bid to upgrade to A-CIQ (Customs, Immigration and Quarantine) category II status, enabling it to receive more non-Schengen charter operations.
Source: Diario AS
