Ryanair has added its first flights from Edinburgh to continental Europe as part of its expansion plans for 2008.
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said the flights to Alicante, Bremen, Frankfurt, Marseille and Pisa would benefit the airport. Ryanair currently flies from Edinburgh to Dublin and Shannon.
The budget carrier has announced 50 new routes for 2008. It will fly from Birmingham, Liverpool, Stansted, Manchester, Edinburgh and Newquay to destinations in Spain, France, Italy, Germany and Romania.
The airline has also said it will open a base in Manchester in the spring. This follows an announcement from Easyjet that it will fly to six destinations from the city as part of a takeover of GB Airways.