MADEIRA is the newest name on Glasgow Prestwick’s destination board this summer. The airport welcomes Atlantic Holidays, the largest independent specialist tour operator to the sun-drenched Portuguese island. Direct flights will depart on July 4, 11 and 18 and the charter will be operated by Monarch Airlines, one of the best-known names in UK travel. Prices start at £539 for 7 nights bed and breakfast or £641 half board in The Estrelicia Hotel.

Madeira, situated 600 miles from Lisbon, 350 miles from the coast of Morocco and 280 miles from Tenerife, was discovered by the Portuguese in 1418. One of the safest holiday destinations in the world, it’s just 35 miles long by 13 miles wide and occupies a superb position in the Atlantic Ocean. It has just about the most perfect climate in the world. It’s never too hot and averages a maximum of 24°C during the summer months and a minimum of 17°C during the winter. Famous Madeirans include the explorer Christopher Columbus and the footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.

Glasgow Prestwick’s Paula Horne said: “We’re delighted to offer flights to Madeira this summer with Atlantic Holidays and Monarch. Only four hours away from Prestwick and with excellent flight times, our new service will appeal both to families wanting a high quality package holiday and to those who want flight-only to get out to their timeshare.”

Paula added: “Boasting a sub-tropical climate, an abundance of natural beauty and a rich cultural heritage, Madeira is a wonderful holiday destination. Flying in to land at the capital Funchal, you’ll be impressed by its breathtaking beauty - sheer cliffs, deep ravines and ragged mountain peaks which hint at the island’s volcanic origins. “Famously referred to as “The Floating Garden of the Atlantic”, Madeira’s rich botanical heritage is everywhere, from the many public gardens and colourful displays in and around Funchal to the island’s luxuriant interior.”

Gloucester-based Atlantic Holidays offers discerning holidaymakers the opportunity to visit these beautiful islands for an unforgettable experience. Established in 1991, the company has a first-class reputation for providing great value holidays and an exceptionally high standard of customer service.

All passengers travelling to Madeira with Atlantic Holidays are entitled to FREE rail travel to/from Glasgow Prestwick Airport. To get free travel tickets, passengers simply produce their original flight confirmation or airline ticket at a First ScotRail Ticket Office where they will be issued with a FREE travel voucher to travel to the airport from anywhere in Scotland and back home after their holiday.

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WIZZ Air, the largest low-cost airline in central and Eastern Europe, celebrated its fifth anniversary at Glasgow Prestwick Airport recently. In the past seven years, Wizz Air has carried 10.7 million passengers to and from the UK, of whom 526,000 were carried through Glasgow Prestwick Airport since they started flights there in April 2006.

All flights are on sale at wizzair.com with fares starting from as low as £18.99 one way, all inclusive. Glasgow Prestwick Chief Executive Iain Cochrane said: “I’m delighted that Wizz Air have reached this marvellous milestone. Their routes to Warsaw and Gdansk are very popular, especially with Scots looking for a short break. Here’s to the next five years!”

A Kilmarnock dad and daughter were given free flights by Wizz when they checked in for this morning’s flight to Warsaw. Pieter Srebo (grey top) and young Veronica are pictured with Polish singers and dancers, Prestwick check-in staff, the Polish Consul General Dr Tomasz Trafas and Glasgow Prestwick Chief Executive Iain Cochrane.

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RYANAIR has officially opened its second maintenance hangar at Glasgow Prestwick Airport which cost £8m. Ryanair says 200 engineering jobs will be secured by the new building, increasing the total jobs supported by Ryanair in Ayrshire to over 2,400. The facility was officially opened by Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond and Ryanair’s Chief Executive Michael O’Leary.

The Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and Glasgow Prestwick Airport secured this 6,000-square metre hangar investment despite intense competition from five other Ryanair bases throughout Europe. They were also instrumental in securing Ryanair’s first 4,000-square metre hangar which opened in 2004. By securing this new investment, the Scottish Government has supported the creation of 400 engineering and support jobs which will maintain a large portion of Ryanair’s 260 aircraft fleet.

Alex Salmond said: “I am delighted that Ryanair is strengthening its operations in Scotland. This impressive new hangar will create 200 new jobs in Ayrshire and is delivering £8 million of investment into the Scottish economy. “Despite competition for a number of European locations, Ryanair chose to create a second hangar in Ayrshire and this is testament to the skills and quality of the local workforce.”

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RYANAIR have announced a new summer sun route from Glasgow Prestwick to Malta as part of their largest-ever summer schedule at Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Ryanair’s Maria Macken said: “Ryanair is delighted to launch it summer 2011 schedule at Glasgow Prestwick. This summer, Ryanair will offer passengers a choice of 23 top destinations including Ibiza, Palma Mallorca and Pisa.” Glasgow Prestwick Chief Executive Iain Cochrane said: “This is the largest number of sunshine destinations we have ever offered holidaymakers since Prestwick was established in 1934.

“From Faro to Fuerteventura, and from Malta to Malaga, Scots now have the widest choice of holiday routes at the lowest prices. The extended schedule is a massive vote of confidence in Prestwick by Europe’s largest low fares airline.” The flights to Malta will operate twice-weekly from 14 April and fares will start from £32 one way inclusive. Ryanair’s 23 summer routes will deliver over 1.3m passengers a year at Glasgow Prestwick Airport.

Glasgow Prestwick’s Paula Horne said: “We are delighted to have another hugely popular sunshine destination from Prestwick. Scots love Malta because of its climate and culture and we are confident it will be a huge success, particularly given Ryanair’s great low fares.” All passengers travelling to Malta with Ryanair are entitled to FREE rail travel to/from Glasgow Prestwick Airport. To get free travel tickets, passengers simply produce their original flight confirmation at a First ScotRail Ticket Office where they will be issued with a FREE travel voucher to travel to the airport from anywhere in Scotland and back home after their holiday. Full details can be found on the airport website www.glasgowprestwick.com

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GLASGOW Prestwick was at the centre of a major training exercise at the weekend in which the Faslane-based NATO Submarine Rescue System and its support equipment were transported to Bergen in Norway. It’s the first time such a massive exercise has been undertaken to test the readiness of the sub’s callout procedure.

The three-day project – named Golden Arrow II – used two C17 and three Antonov 124 aircraft to airlift the equipment which weighed a total of 460 metric tonnes. Glasgow Prestwick is the designated airport, should the submarine ever have to be deployed worldwide from its home base at Faslane. The submarine rescue vehicle is a manned submersible weighing 27 tonnes and has a three-man crew.

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