The UK’s largest airline easyJet is this week celebrating carrying over five million passengers to and from Birmingham airport.

To mark the occasion, easyJet surprised two lucky travellers at Birmingham airport Rachel and Thomas Caulton from Cheltenham who were flying to Geneva, with a pair of return flights to anywhere on easyJet’s network.

The airline launched operations at Birmingham airport in 2007, flying its first customers from Birmingham also to Geneva. 17 years later, the launch of a new three-aircraft base is enabling the airline to further expand its Birmingham network with 16 new routes taking off with the base opening on 18 March 2024 including to Antalya, Barcelona and Sharm el Sheikh meaning easyJet will connect customers in the Midlands via 29 routes across the UK, Europe and North Africa.

The airline’s first base opening in the UK in over a decade will create around 100 direct jobs for pilots and crew and over 1,200 more indirect jobs. easyJet is the largest airline in the UK and currently employs around ten thousand people across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The new base opening will also see easyJet holidays, the UK’s fastest growing tour operator, offer thousands more package holidays and city breaks from Birmingham to over 100 European destinations with a choice of up to 5,000 hotels.

All easyJet holidays include flights, hotel, 23kg luggage per person, and transfers on beach holidays secured with a deposit of just £60 per person. All breaks are covered by Ultimate Flexibility, which includes a Best Price Guarantee meaning if customers find holidays cheaper elsewhere, a discount of the price difference will be applied to their booking.

Ali Gayward, easyJet's UK Country Manager, said:

“We are delighted to celebrate carrying over five million passengers from Birmingham as we prepare to open our new base next month and start flying customers to even more destinations in the UK, Europe and North Africa. We remain focused on offering great value fares, convenient connections and more choice for our customers in the Midlands, and we can’t wait to welcome them onboard.”

Tom Screen, Aviation Director of Birmingham Airport said:

"With just 25 days to go until easyJet launch based operations at Birmingham Airport, it was a pleasure to present the five millionth easyJet passenger with their prize. Reaching this milestone is a testament to the ever-strengthening relationship between Birmingham Airport and easyJet."