Naples has been chosen for expansion by easyJet as its 24th base in Europe, with two aircraft based at the Italian city’s airport from next summer.
The airline expects annual carryings to rise by 350,000 to reach almost 2 million.
Five new routes are being introduced, bringing the network up to 20 with 130 flights a week in the peak season.
The airline will fly additional frequencies on key routes such as Gatwick with two daily flights.
EasyJet started operations there in 2000 and claims to carry more passengers than any other airline.
The move follows the announcement last month of the creation of another new base in Hamburg next spring alongside expansion from Berlin.
The carrier’s Europe director Mike Campbell said: “Italy is a key market for easyJet where it has regularly invested and we are delighted to announce that Naples becomes our third Italian base and in Italy’s third largest city.
“Naples is a top European destination both for tourism – the city being listed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO – and for business with a wide network of more than 260,000 companies and 2.6 million businessmen travelling to and from Naples every year.”