The much-missed route to and from London Luton was given a new lease of life when Wizz Air kicked off their new service.
It will operate twice a week on Fridays and Mondays all-year round.
The inaugural flight was welcomed with a water cannon salute provided by the Gibraltar Airport Fire and Rescue Service and passengers were greeted by the Gibraltar Re-enactment Society and the Gibraltar Sea Scouts. Arriving and departing passengers were presented with gifts by a team from the Gibraltar Tourist Board.
Minister for Business, Tourism, Transport and the Port the Hon Vijay Daryanani MP said, “I was delighted to welcome a new airline to Gibraltar and extra capacity for the North London market. Wizz Air UK is expanding quickly and I have no doubt that they will become long term partners for Gibraltar. I negotiated personally with the airline to attract them to the Rock. Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar is committed to attracting an expansion of air services. I will continue to work hard at this and make sure that we have more airlines operating out of the airport than ever before.”
Owain Jones, Managing Director Wizz Air UK, added, “With the launch of our affordable flights to Gibraltar today, we are offering passengers yet another exciting travel opportunity, this time to the Mediterranean peninsula of Gibraltar. A truly unique destination, Gibraltar offers travellers a fascinating blend of history and culture, spectacular views from the top of The Rock and of course, a chance to see its famous Barbary Macaques. As Gibraltar remains on the travel corridor list, meaning passengers arriving into England from Gibraltar don’t have to self-isolate on return, now is the perfect time to book a trip onboard our young, green and ultra-efficient Airbus aircraft fleet.”
Land Mark Loan
A landmark loan facility has been agreed for Gibraltar, enabled by NatWest International Gibraltar and NatWest UK.
The lending facility, which totals £500 million, is split equally between the two lenders and has been put in place to provide the Government of Gibraltar with the maximum amount of flexibility to allocate expenditure in support of the economy during the period of the pandemic and the recovery phase. In addition the funding also provides additional liquidity as the end of the Brexit transition period approaches.
Gordon Paterson, Country Head and Head of Local Banking, NatWest International Gibraltar said, “As part of our purpose as a bank, it is our aim to support not just our customers and colleagues but the local community of which we are a part, and there has been no more pertinent time to demonstrate this. A strong relationship has been built up over a number years with the Government of Gibraltar which provides the confidence to support them in respect to this material undertaking.”
The Hon Fabian Picardo QC MP, Chief Minister stated, “It is a pleasure for us to announce that we have entered into our facility agreement with NatWest International Gibraltar, a local bank that continues to thrive in our economy, and NatWest UK, who were brought in by the local team. The NatWest team has worked tirelessly with the Financial Secretary and his team over several months to secure this landmark deal. As we see how mass vaccination in 2021 raises the probability of an imminent recovery, the deal marks the turning of a new leaf as we kick-start our economy and look forward to the new opportunities this may bring.”
Travel Restrictions
Some new, enhanced, travel restrictions have been enacted in Gibraltar for air travel. These are on top of those announced by the Chief Minister regarding COVID testing.
You will only be allowed to disembark an aircraft in Gibraltar if you are one of the following:
- Individuals who are registered Gibraltarians, either by birth or naturalisation;
- Individuals with residence in Gibraltar, upon demonstrating satisfactory proof of residence;
- Sea farer on transit to a vessel which is berthed at Gibraltar and has immigration pre clearance letter issued by the Borders and Coastguards Agency;
- Spanish nationals who are in transit to Spain;
- Individuals travelling to Gibraltar on transit to Spain and who hold lawful residence in Spain, upon demonstrating satisfactory proof of residence;
- People who are carrying out a work activity in Gibraltar or who are taking up employment in Gibraltar and who provide proof on arrival;
- Military personnel who have been issued with Travel Orders;
- Individuals who hold an electronic letter issued by the Borders and Coastguard Agency granting that individual permission to enter Gibraltar.
