Following on from their service announcements last month, sister companies Transavia France (TO, Paris Orly) and Transavia Airlines (HV, Amsterdam Schiphol) have revealed the majority of the Summer 2020 routes that they intend to operate from Montpellier and Brussels National, with flights due to commence from the end of March.

The low-cost carrier (LCC) Transavia France unveiled its first 14 destinations to be served from Montpellier at its new two-aircraft base. In its initial base announcement, the carrier stated that its Summer 2020 network from the French airport will offer 20 destinations, indicating that there are yet more route decisions still to be made.

As of April 3, 2020, when its operations start, Transavia France will be the only LCC with aircraft based in Montpellier. Other LCCs that operate from the French airport include easyJet (London Luton), Volotea (V7, Barcelona El Prat), and Air Arabia Maroc (3O, Casablanca Mohamed V).

In Portugal, Transavia France will connect to Lisbon 3x weekly and Faro 2x weekly. Madrid Barajas (3x weekly), Sevilla, and Palma de Mallorca (both 2x weekly) will be the airline's three Spanish destinations. It will fly to two destinations in Greece, namely to Athens and Heraklion, and both flown 2x weekly. Set to receive low-cost flights are two city pairs from Montpellier to Rome Fiumicino and Palermo International in Italy. The LCC's three points in Morocco will start later than the rest of the 14 routes, beginning in June and all 2x weekly are Marrakech, Agadir, and Oujda. The sixth and final country market is Tunisia, where Transavia France will offer sectors to Tunis (3x weekly) and Djerba (2x weekly).

All of these 14 destinations will be unique to the airport, apart from Marrakech, which is already operated by Air Arabia Maroc. These city pairs come in addition to the existing Montpellier to Rotterdam route operated by Transavia. The French LCC aims to carry 500,000 passengers in its first year of operations at the airport.

Nathalie Stubler, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Transavia France said: “We were impressed by the warm welcome we received when we announced the opening of the Montpellier base. We were eager to unveil these first destinations from Montpellier. The programme we’re presenting will enable us to meet a very strong demand from locals looking for low-cost offers from Montpellier airport while simultaneously contributing to the attractiveness of the region by welcoming new tourists. The final countdown has begun! In four months, the first Transavia flight will take off from Montpellier airport.”

Emmanuel Brehmer, Chairman of the Executive Board of Montpellier Airport, added: “It’s of course an important day for Montpellier Méditerranée Airport but also for the urban area of Montpellier, the eastern part of the Occitanie region and the western part of the Provence region. As of the Spring 2020, there will be 14 new destinations, almost all of them exclusive. We are truly honoured by the trust Nathalie Stubler - CEO of Transavia France - placed in Montpellier. Thanks to this new offer, we can now say to the inhabitants of our region: Start travelling from Montpellier!”

Starting on 30 March, Transavia will serve a total of nine destinations with 28 weekly flights from Brussels and hopes to attract both Belgian passengers and passengers from the south of the Netherlands, as well as bringing more tourists and other visitors to Belgium.

Alicante (5x weekly), Ibiza, and Faro (both 4x weekly) are the best-served destinations of those announced by the carrier. It will be offering 3x weekly rotations from Brussels to Thessaloniki, Tel Aviv Ben Gurion, and Verona. The remaining three city pairs are all served 2x weekly, namely Agadir, Heraklion, and Kerkyra.

The carrier is not basing aircraft at the Belgian airport, but "will visit Brussels in our daily rotations starting at Amsterdam Schiphol," the airline said in its initial announcement.

The Dutch LCC used to operate foreign bases at Munich, Billund, and Copenhagen Kastrup airports (the last two via Transavia Denmark (Copenhagen Kastrup)) but until this announcement, was then again focusing on serving its home market.