Low cost carrier Ryanair is planning to base four aircraft at Manchester Airport next summer, in an investment worth $280 million.
From summer 2012 Ryanair will operate 26 routes from the northern England airport.
The airline currently operates six routes from Manchester, but from this winter it will expand to 17 routes, with two aircraft based at the airport.
For business travellers, the launch of flights to Barcelona, Milan, Oslo, Paris, Brussels, Madrid and Rome may be of most interest – all will start from October.
According to Ryanair, its new Manchester base will mean 2 million additional passengers each year will pass through the airport, and 2,000 jobs will be created.
Manchester will be Ryanair’s 45th European base, where the airline will be competing with Easyjet and Jet2 on many routes.
www.ryanair.com