The departure of flight LS177 to Alicante signalled further investment into Scotland by the airline, which went on to announce a new direct route from Glasgow to the ski gateway Geneva, Switzerland.

With 148 passengers on board, the flight jetted off to the Costa Blanca on the Jet2Scotland branded aircraft.

Local dignitaries, including the deputy first minister for Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, were on hard to witness the departure.

The branded aircraft will provide a great profile for Scotland in Jet2.com’s destination airports across Europe and is part of the airline’s strategy to encourage inbound passengers to visit Glasgow.

Ian Doubtfire, managing director of Jet2.com, said: “This is an exciting day for us, seeing our first flight take off from Glasgow Airport – our second base in Scotland and eighth in the UK.

“We are thrilled with the positive response to date and, as a result, we have increased our capacity on our most popular sunshine routes.