EASYJET have confirmed when they are to resume flying from Newcastle International Airport - but passengers will face a string of new safety measures.

This morning, the low-cost airline announced a select number of flights would resume from the North-East on June 15.

It said it would be reopening its domestic routes from this date, but hinted that further routes would be "confirmed" in coming weeks.

The only international route set to fly from the UK is EasyJet's service between Gatwick and Nice in France. 

'New safety measures'

However, the airline says new safety and hygiene measures paired will be paired with a requirement for all passengers and crew to wear masks.

It said there won't be food sold during flights, but there would be enhanced cleaning of planes, and disinfection wipes and hand sanitiser made available.

Earlier this month Ryanair said it would be restarting flights to Europe as its boss said Brits 'wanted to get back to the beaches of Spain and Portugal.'

Ryanair said it planned to restore 40 percent of its flights from July 1.

EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren said: "I am really pleased that we will be returning to flying in the middle of June.

"These are small and carefully planned steps that we are taking to gradually resume operations.

"We will continue to closely monitor the situation across Europe so that, when more restrictions are lifted, the schedule will continue to build over time to match demand, while also ensuring we are operating efficiently and on routes that our customers want.

"The safety and wellbeing of our customers remains our highest priority, which is why we are implementing a number of measures to enhance safety at each part of the journey, from disinfecting the aircraft to requiring customers and crew to wear masks.

"These measures will remain in place for as long as is needed to ensure customers and crew are able to fly safely as the world continues to recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic."

EasyJet admitted on Tuesday that nine million of its passengers had their email addresses and travel details exposed in a "highly sophisticated".

An additional 2,200 customers also had their credit card details stolen.

The airline insisted there is "no evidence that any personal information of any nature has been misused".

On Friday, easyJet shareholders will vote on whether to remove Mr Lundgren, chairman John Barton and two non-executives from their positions.

This is part of a bitter battle between founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou and the company's management.