Edelweiss winter flight schedule with three new holiday destinations

The northern Swedish city of Luleå offers classic Lapland experiences such as the Northern Lights, dog sledding, and cross-country skiing – comparable to its Finnish counterpart. However, a unique feature is its location by the frozen sea, allowing for unique winter activities such as driving on ice or tours with an icebreaker. With its Gammelstad, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and a well-developed infrastructure, Luleå is also an ideal starting point for winter tours through Swedish Lapland – whether towards the Finnish border or to Kiruna and Abisko, perhaps the best place to observe the Northern Lights.

São Vicente and Praia in Cape Verde
For several years, Edelweiss has served the Cape Verdean islands of Sal and Boa Vista, known for beach holidays and water sports. Now, São Vicente and Praia are added as two destinations that serve as perfect starting points for island hopping. São Vicente and its neighboring island Santo Antão, which are well connected by ferry, are considered nature and hiking paradises. Many tours in Cape Verde start here and continue across several islands to Sal or Boa Vista. The capital Praia on the island of Santiago is the political and economic center of Cape Verde. Santiago is considered the most culturally interesting island of the archipelago and offers diverse insights into history and daily life. From here, the neighboring island of Fogo with its impressive volcano can also be reached.

Additional capacities and more nonstop flights on long-haul routes
On long-haul routes, there are numerous innovations and expansions thanks to the third and fourth Airbus A350: Muscat and Salalah in Oman will be offered continuously from September to May. The trendy destination Colombo in Sri Lanka will be served nonstop again after a three-year break and will receive a second weekly flight. Frequencies and capacities are also increased for Punta Cana (now three weekly flights), Puerto Plata, Montego Bay (both from mid-December two), Cape Town (new five), and Phuket (four from January). All Maldives flights will now be operated nonstop.

On short-haul routes, the main focus is on Southern Europe and North Africa: All Canary Islands will receive additional frequencies during the high-demand months: Gran Canaria and Tenerife will now be served up to eleven times, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura up to four times, and La Palma up to two times per week. Bilbao will be available throughout the winter, and Palma de Mallorca will be expanded to up to six frequencies. To the east, popular destinations such as Pristina (now up to 14 weekly flights), Skopje (up to four), Split (up to three), and Larnaca (up to eight) will receive additional capacities. Tbilisi in Georgia was newly added in April and is now extended into winter. Catania (Sicily) and Lamezia (Calabria) will be continuously served with several weekly flights.

In Morocco, Marrakech will have up to six and Agadir two weekly connections in the flight schedule. In Egypt, Hurghada will be increased to up to 13 weekly connections, Marsa Alam to four. Sharm El Sheikh is scheduled twice, Luxor once, and Giza/Cairo Sphinx will also be served twice a week with a flight schedule optimized for cultural trips.

The destinations in the far north will experience another expansion: Evenes/Lofoten will receive a second weekly connection in the second half of winter, and the season start for the Finnish destinations Rovaniemi and Ivalo will be moved forward to early December. Kittilä, Kuusamo, Tromsø, and Iceland's Reykjavik will continue to be served. Bristol will receive two weekly connections in February in addition to summer flights, and the number of flights to Edinburgh will be further increased.

On seasonal routes such as Heraklion, Kalamata, Antalya, Cagliari, or Ponta Delgada, the popular autumn season will be extended into November with additional flights.