HOLIDAYMAKERS will be able to board international flights from Oxford for the first time this winter when the city’s airport begins weekly flights to Geneva.
From December 19, London Oxford Airport in Kidlington will operate a weekly Saturday departure to Switzerland’s second biggest city throughout the three-month skiing season.
The move comes just three months after the Oxford Mail exclusively revealed the airport was in discussion with operators about providing routes to European cities.
The cost of a flight to Geneva is £78 one-way.
And passengers can be reassured of arriving in style as the Swiss operator Baboo describes itself as a “full frills” airline offering free wine and canapés.
Airport bosses have hailed the move as a landmark development for the facility, which was controversially rebranded London Oxford two months ago.
The airport’s managing director Steve Jones said: “We are delighted to introduce Geneva as our first international scheduled service and see this as a major turning point in the future of the airport.”
The news comes just two weeks after it was announced that flights to Jersey would return for an extended season next May.
Baboo will use a 75-seat Q400 Bombardier plane for the Geneva service, which runs until March 13.
And while departures are initially targeted at skiers, airport bosses are hopeful the route will prove successful enough with business passengers to continue throughout the year.
Marketing manager James Dillon Godfray said: “This takes the airport to another level and is a radical departure for us because it’s our first international scheduled service.
“The route will mainly be orientated towards Brits going skiing because of the scheduling.
“However, there is also a demand for business travel with the large number of scientific research companies based in Switzerland, which we also have in Abingdon and Didcot.”
Claire Prosser, policy executive at the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce, said: “We support this move. We’re linking two similarly themed economic regions so inevitably there’s going to be demand.”
Great Experience Travel in Witney is one of the first companies to offer flights and accommodation packages for the route.
cwalker@oxfordmail.co.uk
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