New Route of the Day (8 July 2022): BA CityFlyer between London LCY and San Sebastian
British Airways now serves San Sebastian in the north-east corner of Spain from its base at London LCY. The 920-kilometre route will be flown 2-weekly (on Mondays and Fridays) using the airline’s E190s operated under the BA CityFlyer brand. The first service was on Friday 8 July and the last flight will be on 2 September, making a total of 17 return flights. To celebrate the launch of this new route, British Airways invited along acclaimed TV chef José Pizarro, who surprised passengers on the inaugural service with complimentary copies of his book “Basque”.
According to Cirium schedule data, the last time the UK had non-stop service to San Sebastian was when Iberia operated flights to London LTN in the summer of 2016 (12 flights) and the summer of 2017 (14 flights) using CRJs operated by Air Nostrum.
What they said
Manuel Butler, Director of the Spanish Tourism Office, London, said: “We are delighted to see that BA CityFlyer is showing great commitment to Spain through the addition of this new route from London City to San Sebastian. This flight will provide travellers with easy access to this wonderful city in the Basque Country and contribute to the increase in variety of Spanish destinations to be discovered this summer. The north of Spain is an impressive destination with breathtaking beaches and stunning landscapes that will surprise British visitors. Being one of the places in the world with more Michelin stars per square metre than anywhere else, San Sebastian is also a vibrant city which stands out because of its cultural offer and elegant architecture. We are looking forward to welcoming more British travellers into Spain over the next few weeks”.
Serving six airports in Spain
This summer (August) BA CityFlyer is offering flights from London LCY to six destinations in Spain. Apart from San Sebastian, the airline serves Barcelona (6-weekly, launched 19 June), Ibiza (3-daily), Malaga (11-weekly), Menorca (3-weekly) and Palma de Mallorca (13-weekly). Pre-pandemic service to Granada, launched in 2013, is not operating this summer.
BA becomes fifth carrier at San Sebastian
San Sebastian ranked as Spain’s 30th busiest airport in 2019, welcoming 320,440 passengers. This summer, apart from service to London LCY, the airport is offering the following routes (weekly frequency in August in brackets):
- Barcelona: Vueling (9)
- Gran Canaria: Binter Canarias (2, started December 2021)
- Madrid: Iberia (19)
- Malaga: Volotea (2, started April 2022)
- Menorca: Volotea (2, started June 2021)
- Palma de Mallorca: Volotea (2, started June 2021)
- Seville: Volotea (2, started April 2022)