Gatwick to host first low-cost flights to Vigo

Clickair has claimed that it will soon become the first low-cost airline to fly from the UK to Vigo in northern Spain.

The service between Gatwick Airport and the city in South Galicia, in the Pontevedra province, will begin on June 21st and operate three times a week.

Some 60,000 travellers are expected to use the route in its first year, bringing the total number of passengers through Vigo's Peinador airport in 2008 to 1.5 million.

Ruben Lopez, managing director of local authority Foundation Provigo, said: "This important new link will greatly improve the competitiveness of our businesses and the quality of life of our citizens."

Vigo is a natural harbour in north-western Spain, close to the country's border with Portugal, and is regularly visited by vessels and yachts en route to Africa, Gibraltar and the Canary Islands.

The warm-water Gulf Stream current means that Vigo, unlike some other Galician cities, enjoys warm summers and mild winters.