Low-cost carrier Iberia Express will operate multiple flights to and from the city to Madrid, Lanzarote and Gran Canaria between 26 December and 3 January.

It will be the first time the airline – owned by British Airways parent IAG – has flown from the North East.

Newcastle’s chief operating officer Richard Knight said he hoped the inaugural season “will be the start of a long relationship” between the airline and airport.

“There is no doubt this has been a challenging year however, the North East travelling public have shown that demand is there to travel,” he said.

“When the Canary Islands were added to the UK’s travel corridor list we saw a huge increase in passengers looking to travel therefore it is great to see even more capacity to these popular destinations this winter.” 

Evandro Vianna, chief commercial officer at Iberia Express, added: “Here at Iberia Express we are committed to the recovery of tourism. As the holiday season begins, we believe that it is important to support connectivity by strengthening our flight programme with new routes and more frequencies that allow our clients to reach their preferred destinations. 

“The Canary Islands is one of the most popular destinations during these dates, and because of this, we have opted to operate these new routes to and from the islands of Lanzarote and Gran Canaria. 

“The health and safety of our passengers, crew and collaborators is of course our absolute priority, and to facilitate this, we have implemented a number of prevention and hygiene measures that ensure safety on our flights and provide the customer with a pleasant flying experience.”