Only 149 Miles: easyJet Reveals New Extremely Short UK Route [Map]

Published Sep 9, 2026, 9:31 AM EDT James lives and breathes route development. Educated in Air Transport Management at Loughborough University and Cranfield University, James has a PhD in Airline Strategy and Economics. James was Market Opportunity Analyst at London Luton Airport and Chief Analyst at anna.aero. He taught airline strategy and economics to undergraduate and postgraduate students for five years and has worked closely with multiple carriers on route and market intelligence projects. He is based near London, UK. easyJet has more UK flights than any other airline. This is partly because the UK-headquartered low-cost carrier has multiple bases across the country. This includes at Manchester Airport (MAN), which is easyJet's fifth most-served airport by flights across its entire network in 2026. As revealed by Sean Moulton on X and now appearing on the airline's website, flights from MAN to Southampton Airport (SOU) will commence in time for Christmas. Covering just 149 nautical miles (276 km) each way, this will be easyJet's new second-shortest route not involving islands. easyJet From Manchester To Southampton The LCC's interest in this route has primarily materialized for one reason. Loganair, which calls itself Scotland's Airline, ceased flying from MAN to SOU on August 20. As such, the short airport pair is currently unserved. Loganair will close its base at SOU in October. Loganair took over the link from the now-defunct Eastern Airways in 2025, and Eastern itself replaced the now-defunct Flybe in 2020. The now-defunct Blue Islands also served the market in 2021. This starting and stopping, together with a big decrease in flying on relatively short domestic UK routes (excluding islands), and much lower business demand, meant that frequencies have consequently reduced substantially. 19 years ago, for example, Cirium Diio shows that nine daily flights existed between SOU and MAN, operated by Flybe and the now-defunct BA Connect. In the past few years, usually only one, two, or three daily flights existed. Trains between the two cities run hourly and can take as little as four hours and 15 minutes. Things will be very different with easyJet. On December 4, easyJet will take off from MAN to SOU for the first time. The LCC will operate on Mondays and Fridays, which, at least, will be good for weekend breaks, along with cruises from Southampton, and so on. This low frequency reflects the route's changing dynamics. One-way base fares (excluding add-ons) start at £30. Day MAN To SOU SOU To MAN Mondays 1:55 PM-2:55 PM 3:30 PM-4:30 PM Fridays 11:55 AM-12:55 PM 1:25 PM-2:25 PM Loading map… Drag to explore easyJet Now Has These Routes From SOU SOU joined easyJet's airport portfolio in 2017. Before then, it had only flown to Bournemouth for the broad south coast. Perhaps due to SOU's known high fees and charges, only one route from SOU (Geneva) existed through 2022. Generally, if a budget airline only has one route to a particular place, it is because it is expensive to serve. In 2023, easyJet launched flights from SOU to Belfast International and Glasgow. In 2024, Alicante, Amsterdam, Faro, and Palma de Mallorca were added, followed by Barcelona and Paris Orly Airport (ORY) in 2025. easyJet's growth at SOU has been partly facilitated by the exit of other airlines and the airport's runway extension. The link to ORY, which is France's second-busiest facility, will end in October. It'll be replaced by Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport (CDG). In 2026, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Belfast International, CDG (from October 25), Faro, Geneva, Glasgow, Manchester, ORY (until October 24), and Palma will be served. easyJet has about 346,000 round-trip seats for sale at SOU in 2026, exceeding the prior record, held in 2025, by 5%. The LCC has 27% of the airport's total capacity this year, which means it is second to Loganair (358,000). While that regional airline's base is closing, it'll still serve SOU using aircraft and crew stationed elsewhere. easyJet's New Second-Shortest Route Not Involving Islands Credit: Airbus Let's narrow the focus to December 2026 onwards, which is when easyJet's new MAN-SOU service will be operational. In that period, the LCC's eight shortest routes by distance will be Liverpool-Isle of Man, Glasgow-Belfast City, MAN-Isle of Man, Glasgow-Belfast International, Edinburgh-Belfast City, Edinburgh-Belfast International, Liverpool-Belfast City, and London Gatwick-Jersey. They all have various things in common, including that they involve islands. Excluding islands, Geneva to Milan Linate will be easyJet's shortest route in that sense. Covering just 141 nautical miles (261 km), flights will begin in October. MAN-SOU will now be second.