Ryanair has opened a new base at Newcastle and launched its biggest ever schedule from the airport.
It will base two aircraft at Newcastle and offer 19 routes in total – 10 of which are new: Chania, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Ibiza, Krakow, Menorca, Milan, Paphos, Riga, and Zadar.
The budget carrier said the expansion represented an investment of $200 million (about £152 million) and creates 60 new direct jobs.
There will be more than 130 weekly flights for summer 2022 – a rise of more than 40 on summer 2019.
Dara Brady, Ryanair’s marketing director, said: “The opening of this base and introduction of these new routes from Newcastle reinforces our commitment to increasing connectivity, travel options and inbound tourism to the area as Ryanair will now offer 40% more capacity than it did pre-pandemic.”
Nick Jones, Newcastle airport’s chief executive, commented: “Today sees a significant investment and commitment from Ryanair at Newcastle International Airport which will also benefit the wider northeast, creating hundreds of new jobs and providing an even bigger choice of destinations.”