Tourist season beginning on April 1 2027
The Greek pavilion at the World Travel Market in London. Archive photo
CORFU. What the initial figures reveal about Corfu’s tourism prospects for 2027. The British market remains a key source of visitors to Corfu. Jet2 is expanding its service from Luton, with flights starting on 1 April, while routes from Gatwick and Bournemouth have also been announced.
With flight schedules from UK airports confirmed, but with no measurable picture yet of booking trends or hotel contracts, the first indications for Corfu’s 2027 tourist season are beginning to emerge. The World Travel Market London, which opened yesterday, Tuesday 3 November, at London’s ExCeL, provides a forum for negotiations between tour operators, hoteliers, airlines and destination representatives.
Jet2 flights from Luton from 1 April
The most significant concrete development regarding the start of the season is the announcement made by Jet2 on 25 June 2026 of an extension to its summer programme from Luton Airport.
The company has scheduled flights to Corfu every Monday and Thursday, from 1 April to 28 October 2027. This represents an earlier start for this particular route, strengthening opportunities to attract visitors outside the peak season.
Jet2 has announced an overall 15% increase in capacity for its Luton programme, adding almost 90,000 seats. However, this increase applies to all destinations served from that base and is not attributable to Corfu alone.
Similarly, from Gatwick Airport, the company has announced two weekly flights to the island during the 2027 peak season. The overall 27% increase in capacity announced for Gatwick applies to its entire programme, not exclusively to Corfu.
Flights from Bournemouth
The official Bournemouth Airport schedule lists two airlines operating flights to Corfu.
TUI lists flights every Monday, Thursday and Friday, from 3 May to 22 October 2027. Jet2 has scheduled flights every Wednesday, from 5 May to 6 October.
The British market in figures
The importance of the UK market is reflected in Fraport Greece’s figures. In September 2026, 120,374 passenger arrivals from the United Kingdom were recorded at Ioannis Kapodistrias Airport, compared with 70,678 from Germany.
For the nine-month period from January to September 2026, total passenger traffic at Corfu Airport reached 4,380,283 passenger movements, an increase of 6.6% compared with the same period in 2025. International passenger traffic rose by 7.3%.
Advance bookings and hotel contracts
Sales of Jet2’s 2027 summer programme had already begun in October 2025. Therefore, the availability of holiday packages to Corfu is not, in itself, a new indication of increased demand.
The launch of flights from Luton on 1 April is a concrete indication that the season is being extended for this particular route. However, there is not yet sufficient evidence to demonstrate a general extension of summer tourism activity into November 2027.
The official easyJet low-fare calendar shows available fares for the Gatwick–Corfu route in January 2027. This relates to the winter season, not an extension of the following summer season, nor does it represent a new agreement announced at the current trade fair.
For the time being, the published figures point to the maintenance and, in some cases, expansion of air connectivity with the UK. They do not yet justify predicting a new record in arrivals or tourism revenue for Corfu in 2027.
GIORGOS KATSAITIS
