More flights to France, Spain, Italy and Malta could be announced from Southampton Airport in the years to come.

The airport has already announced flights to Spain and Portugal which will start this summer.

But that is set to be expanded to more summer holiday destinations, the aviation director at the airport has revealed.

Chris Tibbett said summer 2024 is about proving the airport has what it takes to supply the holiday demand for local people. He said: “The flights that we have on this summer is really the start of what could be achieved at Southampton Airport.

“We now have six easyJet routes flying directly out of our airport, joining British Airways and TUI who already operate summer sun routes, whilst KLM have increased flying to three times a day with connections to far afield places like Asia. With big airlines like these already on the cards I’m thrilled to say this is just the beginning.”

Southampton Airport saw two million passengers in 2019 but this figure fell to around 200,000 in 2021 due to the pandemic.

Despite the added strain of the Covid-19 pandemic and its detrimental impact on the aviation industry, the airport has bounced back - with summer 2024 shaping up to be the airport’s strongest year since Flybe left the airport in 2020.

The 164-metre runway extension was completed at the airport in September, which aviation director Chris said will increase the number and size of plane now able to take off from Southampton.

He added: “The runway extension at Southampton has also provided us with so many future leisure and business flight opportunities that serve the region.

“This extension is a game changer for the airport as we have now been able to increase the size of planes that can now travel from Southampton, including the popular Airbus A320 operated by many carriers. Prior to this, we were restricted to smaller aircraft which, whilst great for regional destinations, are unable to travel further distances like the Med.”

Chris said domestic flights would not fall victim to the increased number of holiday destinations.