German budget airline Eurowings is to start direct flights from Munich to Stansted and Scotland’s two busiest airports.
The Lufthansa Group low-cost carrier will introduce six flights a week from the Essex airport, five a week from Edinburgh and two a week from Glasgow.
Lufthansa currently operates a seasonal Saturday flight from Glasgow to Munich.
Eurowings is basing four airbus A320s in the Bavarian capital from March next year and introducing 32 routes across Europe.
The expansion from the hub in southern Germany follows Eurowings announcing last week that it was leasing 33 additional aircraft from Air Berlin together with cockpit crew and cabin staff for a period of six years.
Lufthansa Group also completed the acquisition of Brussels Airlines, which will become part of Eurowings.
Karl Ulrich Garnadt, member of the Lufthansa management board and responsible for Eurowings, said: “With this new flight programme from Munich, we’re positioning ourselves once again as an engine for growth in the Lufthansa Group.
“Our course, building a leading European quality provider in the market for affordable direct flights, will receive a huge boost in 2017 thanks to the new base in south Germany.”