The airline’s brand new route to Bergen will again provide a much-needed air link with Norway’s second largest city with which Newcastle is twinned and has a particularly close and active bond. The King of Norway, Olav V, opened Newcastle's Civic Centre in 1968 and each December the City is presented with a Christmas tree by the City of Bergen.
Dave Laws, Chief Executive of Newcastle International, says: “We are delighted to begin 2012 with two new route announcements from Newcastle Airport with Flybe. The return of Bergen and Newquay will be extremely popular with both our business and leisure customers. The new direct flight to Bergen will further strengthen the region’s link with Norway. Twinned cities, Newcastle and Bergen have enjoyed a close relationship for hundreds of years with both cities benefiting from on-going trade and investment. It’s a favourite for a short city break and for those wishing to visit Norway’s fjord country. The North East is also incredibly popular with Norwegian tourists who visit the region to shop and watch our top class football teams in action. Newquay’s return will also be very well received. The town provides great access to Cornwall’s stunning coastline. The team at Newcastle Airport works hard to bring more choice to our customers and encourage the North East public to fly from their airport.”
Commenting further on the benefit this route will have for the two twinned cities, Leader of Newcastle City Council, Councillor Nick Forbes, adds: "I am delighted that Flybe has opened up this new route to Bergen. New routes such as this help create jobs and attract investment to our region, and are a sign of confidence in our city in these challenging times. This is great news for tourism and the economy alike."
Flybe remains committed to developing its route network to and from the North East and to keeping business and leisure travellers moving during these continued economically challenging times, commenting that it ‘looks forward to operating the first flights to these new destinations’.