MAG, the owner of East Midlands Airport, and Monarch Airlines have announced an agreement to introduce flights to Malaga, Alicante, Palma and Faro from late summer 2012.

The new Monarch Airlines operation from East Midlands Airport covers most of the destinations to Spain and Portugal affected by the closure of bmibaby from September, which was announced today by its owners, IAG.

“There’s no doubt that passengers seeking Winter sun from East Midlands Airport will welcome this news from Monarch”, said Ken O’Toole, MAG’s Chief Commercial Officer.

“Whilst we’re sorry to see the closure of bmibaby, Spain and Portugal are extremely popular destinations with our passengers and we were very keen to ensure that we were able to provide this. We are delighted that Monarch Airlines is taking advantage of this opportunity and I am sure they will be a successful and popular operator.”

Commenting on the announcement, Managing Director of Monarch Airlines, Kevin George said, “As opportunities have opened up in the market, it has become clear that the Midlands will be underserved as a region in the future.”

“As an airline with over 40 years heritage and a stronghold in the Midlands already, the launch of operations from East Midlands makes perfect sense for Monarch, and accelerates the strategy we announced last year to focus on the development of our scheduled operations into key leisure destinations across the Mediterranean, the Canaries and North Africa.”

George continues. “The further expansion of our services from the Midlands will provide even more customers with choice and flexibility and protects jobs at East Midlands Airport in the future”.

With news of the agreement hot off the press, Monarch will release more details about its schedule and timetable from East Midlands Airport in the coming weeks.

MAG and Monarch Airlines already enjoy a successful relationship at Manchester Airport where the airline has a significant base operating short-haul and long-haul services.