Budget airline Ryanair is running seven new routes out of Birmingham Airport next summer. The Irish firm says this will be its biggest ever summer schedule to operate out of the airport, with a total of 42 routes including the seven new ones.
They are Billund, Girona, Pisa, Santander, Stockholm, Toulouse and Venice - all of which are operating twice weekly - while its total summer programme comprises more than 350 flights per week.
There are increased frequencies on ten of its routes, including to Bergamo, Dublin and Madrid, and it is also adding a new Boeing 737-8200 Gamechanger aircraft to its stable at Birmingham Airport, bringing its total there to six.
This latest development follows the firm's announcement in June that it was adding a fifth plane to its operations at Birmingham as well as launching five new European routes for its 2022/23 winter schedule.
Ryanair said the move was supporting more than 1,700 jobs, including 180 direct posts, and the additional plane represented an investment of around £89 million.
Ryanair DAC chief executive Eddie Wilson said: "Ryanair is delighted to launch our biggest-ever schedule in Birmingham for summer 2023.
"The additional aircraft will enable Ryanair to operate this exciting 42-route schedule, becoming the leading airline at Birmingham Airport.
"If we are to continue to grow and to drive recovery and connectivity to the UK, Prime Minister Sunak must immediately scrap air passenger duty in full for all travel, not just domestic travel, and provide incentives for airlines like Ryanair to stimulate growth and recovery for the UK and its regions, such as Birmingham."
Birmingham Airport chief executive Nick Barton added: "We are so thrilled Ryanair is significantly expanding its Birmingham offering. Basing a sixth aircraft here will increase options for customers, create jobs and boost the West Midlands economy."
