BLACKPOOL Airport's American dream could soon become a reality -- with a leading UK travel company planning transatlantic flights from the Fylde Coast.

Newmarket Holidays already offer package tours from Blackpool to Italy, Spain and Portugal, and the firm looks set to make history by introducing holidays in Florida.

Regular flights to Eastern Europe are also on the cards, with Transun announcing holidays in the Croatian resort of Dubrovnik, as well as trips to the Atlantic island of Madeira.

Newmarket's business development manager, Allison Keeble, said: "We are absolutely confident that a service to the United States from Blackpool would be both hugely popular and commercially successful.

"We are looking into the possibility of making Florida our destination and at the moment we are studying all the angles before taking the idea any further."

Blackpool Airport's managing director, Garry Eastwood, said: "There is little doubt that a direct flight from here to anywhere in the United States would be very exciting.

"There is also little doubt that seats would sell like hot cakes and we are now waiting to see what decision is reached by Newmarket Holidays."

Transun already runs holidays from Blackpool in Sicily and Sardinia in October and day trips to Vienna and Lapland in November.

A Transun spokesman said: "Blackpool is now a very popular airport and we want to use it more often for departures to other interesting and exciting destinations. We hope to be making further announcements about other holidays very shortly."

Mr Eastwood added: "We are delighted that Transun, a company that this year celebrates its 21st anniversary, is increasing its services from here.

"We would expect the flights to Croatia and Madeira to be heavily booked by those many Lancashire people who are always looking for somewhere a bit different for a holiday."