ATHENS – Aegean Airlines is adding 11 new routes towards international destinations in its 2020 scheduling, flying from Athens, Thessaloniki and the company’s new base at Corfu island, including the UK city of Birmingham, Paphos in Cyprus and Bilbao in Spain, the company announced on Thursday.

Aegean said it intends to increase its passenger capacity across 47 foreign routes, adding some 1.1 million seats to its annual activity to a total of 11.4 million, as it will receive the first six Airbus A320/321neo planes of a new fleet of 46 on order by July 2020, the company also announced. The order translates to a 56 billion euro investment.

More specifically, the company will launch eight new destinations from Thessaloniki International Airport in April 2020: six outbound and two inbound, to Barcelona, Brussels, Rome, Milan, Zurich and Berlin, and in Greece to the islands of Lemnos and Ikaria.

Fraport Greece is also investing in a new 500-square-meter Aegean Airlines lounge at Thessaloniki International airport, also increasing its ground staff total there to 230 from the current 200.