Spanish airline Vueling, part of the International Airlines Group (IAG) that includes British Airways, operated the first flights of their new summer service between Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) and Barcelona on Good Friday.

Celebrations took place both inside and outside the Airport terminal including a traditional arch of water aircraft ‘baptism’ as the Airbus A320 taxied in.

The three times weekly service operates on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday with a schedule to suit both leisure and business passengers. Passengers can also connect onwards to other destinations served by Vueling from Barcelona.

Vueling is the largest airline serving the main Barcelona El Prat Airport, and operate on more than 410 routes to 162 cities in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Robin Tudor, head of PR for LJLA, said: “Good Friday’s inaugural Vueling flight was a great way to start the Easter weekend and welcome the fourth new airline to commence operations from Liverpool in just over a year.”

Gabriel Schmilovich, network planning, scheduling and slots director at Vueling, said: “Vueling is one of Europe’s leading low fare carriers and this new route to Barcelona means that our passengers from Liverpool will be able to visit this top destination during the summer but also reach our other 160 destinations across Europe, the Middle East and Africa with our connecting flights.”

Basic fares begin at £41 one way for the route, and can be obtained at www.vueling.com