Jet2 is cancelling all flights and package holidays from the UK to La Palma, the Spanish island in the Canary Islands, just six months after the route was launched. The service between Manchester Airport and La Palma will cease on October 30, having only begun on April 3 this year.
Customer options and route details
An airline spokesperson confirmed that affected customers would be contacted directly and offered the choice to rebook or receive a full refund. The decision followed a programme review and assessment of customer demand.
As the route concludes on October 30, most passengers with bookings during the October half-term should remain unaffected. The Manchester Airport service ran twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays.
Impact on La Palma's tourism
The route represented the fifth addition to Jet2's Canary Islands network, joining Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Tenerife. According to Canarian Weekly, the development represents a "significant setback" for La Palma's tourism sector, with the island having welcomed news of the new route when it was introduced earlier this spring.
The destination, which has a less developed tourism infrastructure than popular hotspots such as Tenerife and Lanzarote, had "been working to strengthen its connections with the British market."
Jet2 statement
A spokesperson for Jet2 said: "As a customer-focused business, we continually review our programme in response to what our customers want, and we will make adjustments where required.
"This gives us the ability to add flights and holidays in response to demand, and very occasionally we may withdraw them too. Following this latest review, we have taken the difficult decision to withdraw flights and holidays to La Palma.
"Where customers are affected, we will contact them or their independent travel agent to let them know their options, which include rebooking another holiday or receiving a full refund.
"We would of course like to apologise to affected customers, however with a fantastic programme of services to a huge range of destinations, we are offering superb choice when it comes to rebooking their holidays with us."
