Low-cost carrier bmibaby is to add seven new routes from Belfast City but will cease operations from Cardiff and Manchester at the end of the summer.
The carrier will add a new year-round six-times weekly service to Amsterdam from Belfast from October 31, and a twice-weekly winter service to Geneva from December 17. The other five new routes are to Malaga, Alicante, Palma, Faro and Ibiza.
Bmibaby currently flies from Belfast City to Birmingham, Cardiff, East Midlands, London Stansted and Manchester, and says that it will be the only carrier to offer flights from Belfast City on these new European routes. The airline will also add two new routes from East Midlands to Toulouse and Chambery this winter. More routes will soon be announced for summer 2012 from both East Midlands and Birmingham. However Belfast and East Midland's gain is Cardiff and Manchester's loss, as the carrier says it will cease operations from the two airports at the end of the summer.
In a statement, the airline said: "In the current economic climate it is essential for bmibaby to focus on airports where the airline already has a strong market presence and where there are strong growth opportunities for the bmibaby business."