HOLIDAYMAKERS looking to escape to the sun have more than 30 destinations to choose from at Bournemouth Airport this year.

The airport is offering getaways to 32 places in 16 different countries with new destinations including Greek islands Skiathos, in the Aegean Sea, and Zante, in the Ionian Sea.

The Egyptian resort of Sharm El Sheikh will return for the winter 2020 programme.

Countries which can be reached directly from Bournemouth Airport include Cyprus (Paphos) , Czech Republic (Prague), Greek Islands (Corfu, Crete, Kefalonia, Rhodes, Skiathos and Zante), Ireland (Dublin), Italy (Bergamo), Malta, Norway (fly/cruise), Poland (Krakow), Portugal (Faro), Spain (Alicante, Girona, Malaga, Murcia), Spain – Balearics (Ibiza, Majorca, Menorca), Spain – Canaries (Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Tenerife), Switzerland (Geneva) and Turkey (Antalya, Dalaman).

There is also Caribbean fly/cruise through P&O Cruises, as well as short breaks or day trips to Lapland and the Northern Lights.

Managing Director Stephen Gill said: “We’re delighted to be publishing the latest edition of Fly Bournemouth with a host of ideas and inspiration for discovering the world with Bournemouth Airport.

“Whether it’s a fly-cruise, short break, summer sun, winter escapes or business links, our fantastic choice of direct flights including new destinations of Skiathos, Zante and the return of flights to Sharm El Sheikh makes the world readily accessible, all with the ease and convenience of flying from your local airport.”

The start of the year is traditionally the busiest time for people to book their annual holiday. As well as the wide range of destinations, Fly Bournemouth 2020 showcases the benefits of flying local, including a quick journey to the airport, parking close to the terminal, short check-in and security times and total step-free access from the terminal entrance to flight boarding.

Bournemouth Airport saw almost 709,000 passengers go through the terminal over the 12 months to March 31 2019. Carriers operating from Bournemouth include TUI, Ryanair and Easyjet.

Bournemouth Airport is owned and operated by Regional & City Airports (RCA), part of Rigby Group plc.

RCA also owns and operates Exeter, Norwich and Coventry airports, and holds management contracts for Blackpool, City of Derry and Solent airports.

In the year to March 2019, RCA welcomed 2.4m passengers and handled 227,000 flights, serving as gateway for the seven million people that live in the airports’ passenger catchment areas.