november-2010

TRANSFORMING CITIES | EUROPE
Here, a view of
Basel cathedral across
the river Rhine
over 600,000 passengers a year. Today,
easyJet alone fl ies more than 2.3 million
passengers in and out of the city each year,
en route to 29 destinations.
“easyJet’s decision to operate from here
was the catalyst to this amazing growth
in recent years, which has seen Liverpool
become probably the UK’s fastest growing
airport,” reckons Tudor. easyJet’s surprise
TV hit, Airline, also helped put Liverpool
airport on the map.
The city has benefi ted too, thanks to the
ease with which European visitors can now
access Liverpool and north-west England.
“easyJet has been a key factor in the boom
in tourism in recent years,” says Tudor.
We f ly to Liverpool from 29 destinations.
See our insider guide on page 142
KRAKOW
Each month 45,000 passengers fl y to and
from Kraków with easyJet. The route’s
popularity owes much to the Polish
nationals working around Europe and
returning home, but also to growing
awareness of Kraków as a city break.
66 | TRAVELLER | 15 TH BIRTHDAY ISSUE
“Since arriving in 2004, easyJet has had
a big impact on Kraków,” explains Kraków
Airport chief executive Jan Pamula. “It is
an important carrier for those who work
in the UK, but we have also experienced
signifi cant growth in the number of
tourists. British and Irish people account for
almost 30% of tourist traffi c in our city.”
“For the city of Kraków, low-cost carriers
bring visitors and create income for hotels
and restaurants. Kraków also has the
famous Jagiellonian University – and
thanks to exchange programmes the city
now welcomes many overseas students.”
We f ly to Kraków from nine destinations.
See our insider guide on page 140
BASEL
EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg,
more commonly known as EuroAirport,
straddles the French-Swiss border, and
passengers leave by separate exits depending
on which country they want to visit.
The airport faced an uncertain future
following the dramatic collapse of Swissair
in 2001, but fortunes were revived when
easyJet agreed to make Basel its second
Swiss base after Geneva in 2004, and it’s
now the biggest airline at the airport. The
number of overnight stays in Basel has
increased by around 50% since 2004 to
more than 100,000 a year.
And it’s not just the hotels and
restaurants that benefi t when easyJet comes
to town, according to Daniel Egloff, director
of Basel Tourism. “Global companies
based in Basel profi t by the extension of
fl ight connections when they are hiring –
especially when it comes to top managers.
Accessibility is one of the most important
decision criterions for employees,” says
Egloff. “Our city also benefi ts from easyJet’s
marketing – when it promotes the fl ight
connection, it is also promoting the
destination. Affordable air travel has made a
strong contribution to the rise in popularity
of city breaks and thanks to easyJet, Basel
has been able to establish itself in that fi eld,
attracting a whole new segment of travellers
that couldn’t afford air travel before.”
We f ly to Basel from 31 destinations. See
our insider guide on page 114
PHOTOS © GETTY, TIM WHITE