The North’s hub airport is expecting a record summer season for 2026, with its £1.3bn transformation of Terminal 2 all but complete, and a major project underway to redevelop Terminal 3.
Sunseekers’ favourites like Malaga, Antalya and Mallorca are all expected to see extra visitors from Manchester this summer – but other, lesser-known destinations are seeing an even greater surge in popularity, with the number of people travelling there from Manchester this summer versus last summer set to double or even triple in some cases.
These destinations are spread across the Mediterranean from east to west, and offer a rich blend of sun, sea, sand, history, culture and culinary delights.
La Palma, Spain
Summer 2025 seats – 4,914. Summer 2026 seats – 14,742. Growth – 200%.
Served from Manchester by Jet2.com and TUI.
Move over Tenerife, look the other way Lanzarote – there’s a new holiday favourite emerging in the Canary Islands.
Jet2.com launched flights to the island of La Palma back in April, joining TUI in offering a direct link from Manchester. La Palma is only a third the size of Tenerife but there’s plenty to see, like its black sand beaches and volcanic landscapes designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, natural wonders such as the Caldera de Taburiente National Park with its lush pine forests, and the archaeological site of Belmaco with prehistoric cave paintings.
The vibe here is much more relaxed than on neighbouring islands and is proving a hit with visitors from Manchester Airport, with almost 15,000 set to travel there this summer – up from less than 5,000 in 2025.
Jerez de la Frontera, Spain
Summer 2025 seats – 4,158. Summer 2026 seats – 8,136. Growth – 100%.
Served from Manchester by Jet2.com.
Jet2.com launched seasonal flights from Manchester to Jerez last summer and is offering double the number of seats this year, with two flights each week between May and October. Jerez is in the south-west of mainland Spain, near the historic city of Cadiz and the Costa de la Luz, where west-facing beaches make for spectacular sunsets. The region is a centre for sherry production and its Doñana wetlands are home to flocks of wild flamingos.
Preveza, Greece
Summer 2025 seats – 21,213. Summer 2026 seats – 31,547. Growth – 49%.
Served from Manchester by easyJet, Jet2.com and TUI.
Manchester Airport flies to more than 20 airports in Greece, but Preveza has seen the biggest bump in seat numbers this summer. Passenger numbers from Manchester to the Ionian coastal hotspot are forecast to be up by almost half on the same period in 2025.
The airport itself is on the mainland, but most people flying in are travelling on to the picturesque island of Lefkada, where dramatic white cliffs tower over sandy beaches. Lefkada Old Town boasts stunning medieval Venetian architecture set in a warren of tightly packed streets, and its well preserved Agia Mavra Fortress dates back almost 1,000 years.
Verona, Italy
Summer 2025 seats – 34,003. Summer 2026 seats – 49,921. Growth – 47%.
Served from Manchester by easyJet, Jet2.com, TUI and Ryanair.
An inland Italian city might not be the most obvious candidate for a fast-growing beach destination – but many flying into Verona this summer will be taking advantage of its location, less than an hour from stunning Lake Garda, to combine a city break with a spot of R&R.
Garda has some of the best lake beaches in Europe – including ‘Jamaica Beach’ in the village of Sirmione, so called because its shallow, crystal-clear waters are said to resemble the Caribbean. The region is also known for its wineries and botanical gardens, and Verona itself if famous for being the setting for a certain Romeo & Juliet – you can even find Juliet’s supposed house, and have a go at recreating famous scenes on here balcony.
Santander, Spain
Summer 2025 seats – 10,584. Summer 2026 seats – 15,315. Growth – 45%.
Served from Manchester by Ryanair.
Ryanair is adding nearly 5,000 extra seats to Santander this summer – a city on Spain’s beautiful, but often overlooked, north coast. El Sardinero beach, with its vast expanse of fine golden sands, is at the heart of social life in the city – and on a hot summer’s day you’ll mingle with locals playing beach volleyball, surfing, sunbathing, or knocking back a cold Estrella in one of its beach bars.
The nearby cities of Bilbao and San Sebastian are worth a day trip, too – the former is home to the Guggenheim Museum of Modern Art, and the latter has one of the highest concentrations of Michelin star restaurants anywhere in the world.
Valencia, Spain
Summer 2025 seats – 24,967. Summer 2026 seats – 34,827. Growth – 39%.
Served from Manchester by Ryanair.
Another Spanish destination, Valencia, will see almost 10,000 extra visitors from Manchester this summer. The city is a highlight in itself, with a charming Old Town teeming with tapas bars and cafes, but it also gives its name to the Costa de Valencia, a little-known stretch of the Spanish Mediterranean coast characterised by golden beaches and quaint fishing villages. It’s the region that created paella, and prides itself on serving the best iterations of the dish anywhere in Spain.
Zadar, Croatia
Summer 2025 seats – 6,615. Summer 2026 seats – 8,987. Growth – 36%.
Served from Manchester by Ryanair.
As one of the largest cities on Croatia’s Dalmatian coast, Zadar is a gateway to some of the most spectacular, unspoilt beaches on the Med. If you like island hopping, Zadar’s busy port will connect you to around a dozen islands and islets in the Adriatic sea, each with a distinct character of its own. It’s also home to one of Europe’s more unusual visitor attractions – the ‘Sea Organ’, a musical instrument-come-art installation at the water’s edge, played by the breaking waves.
Tirana, Albania
Summer 2025 seats – 14,742. Summer 2026 seats – 19,845. Growth – 35%.
Served from Manchester by Ryanair.
Albania’s capital is a great candidate for a city break – but as it has the country’s only major international airport, it’s also the starting point for intrepid explorers seeking out the stunning beaches on the Albanian Riviera that have become Instagram and TikTok famous over the past couple of years. The most iconic are found in Ksamil, where powdery white sand and turquoise waters have earned comparisons with the Maldives. The nearby ruins of Butrint, an ancient Greek city, are a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Marseille, France
Summer 2025 seats – 15,139. Summer 2026 seats – 20,269. Growth – 34%.
Served from Manchester by Ryanair.
Marseille is one of the oldest cities in Europe but its charms are just being discovered by visitors from Manchester, with numbers set to be up by a third this year. Enjoy cake and coffee in the trendy Le Panier district, marvel at the architecture of the Cathedrale La Major, and relax on a beach with a breathtaking backdrop in the nearby Calanques National Park.
Porto, Portugal
Summer 2025 seats – 54,856. Summer 2026 seats – 72,031. Growth – 31%.
Served from Manchester by easyJet, Jet2.com and Ryanair.
More than 17,000 extra travellers are expected to fly from Manchester Airport to Porto this summer, and many of them will head straight for Matosinhos – a stunning mile-long stretch of sand at the edge of the city that has carved a reputation as one of Europe’s premier surfing spots. The city is the birthplace of Port wine, and the beautiful Douro Valley – which stretches inland for almost 500 miles, from the mouth of the Douro river in Porto – provides the grapes for Portugal’s signature tipple.
Other notable fast-growing destinations
- Chania on the Greek island of Crete is up from 48,653 seats last summer to 61,054 seats this summer – a 25% increase.
- Dubrovnik in Croatia is up from 50,733 last summer to 62,526 this year, an increase of 23%.
- Of the traditional holiday favourites, Alicante is the fastest growing, with an extra 9% of seats year-on-year vs summer 2025. While that’s a much lower percentage than some destinations on this list, an increase from 293,829 to 319,886 means more than 25,000 extra seats to the Costa Blanca this summer.
You can browse escapes from Manchester Airport here.
