BRUSSELS: Southampton Airport and Belgian operator VLM Airlines will be launching daily scheduled flights each weekday between Southampton (England), Antwerp (Belgium) and Hamburg (Germany) from Thursday April 23.
VLM Airlines joins the airport at a time of growth, with Southampton Airport reporting passenger numbers as 21% up in February 2015 versus 2014.
Flights between Southampton and Hamburg will be linked via a stopover in Antwerp. The Belgian city is home to the second largest port in Europe and is known as a ‘petrochemical hub’, with several multinational companies investing more into their sites there. The city also appeals to tourists, with its reputation as the diamond capital of the world. Travellers can also benefit from the city’s excellent public transportation systems and can journey to the centre of Brussels in less than an hour.
Hamburg, the second largest city in Germany, is another of Europe’s busiest international ports, with a 2014 throughput of 145.7 million tonnes. Appealing to both business and leisure travellers, Hamburg is a major industrial and media centre, with local employers including Airbus, Blohm + Voss and Der Spiegel.
Dave Lees, Managing Director of Southampton Airport, said: “We are delighted to welcome VLM and the new route to Antwerp and Hamburg. We’re continuously working to expand the airport’s route network to give our loyal passengers a great choice of destinations, and Antwerp and Hamburg make perfect additions to our programme.
