Irish budget airline Ryanair (FR/RYR) has announced it is to open a two-aircraft base at Newcastle Airport (NCL/EGNT) in 2022.
The move follows high demand for the airline’s flights from Newcastle and will see it add a further 12 routes from the North-eastern gateway.
Opening the base will see Ryanair increases its flights from Newcastle to 63 per week during Summer 2022.
Ryanair CEO, Eddie Wilson said: “We are delighted to launch a new UK base, which represents a $200m investment at Newcastle. This development will create over 60 direct jobs and offer our UK customers a host of European hotspots to choose from next Summer, including popular destinations such as Paphos, Chania, Menorca, Ibiza and Zadar.
We have seen massive demand for fights from Newcastle this summer as UK customers flock to the beaches of Spain and Portugal and now customers will have much wider choice next summer with the addition of these 12 new routes.“
The base will open up new jobs directly with the airline and support hundreds more at the airport and the local economy.
Nick Jones, Chief Executive at Newcastle International Airport said: “Today’s announcement from Ryanair to base two aircraft at Newcastle International Airport for summer 2022 is very significant news for both the Airport and the region. Ryanair’s investment is a sign of growing confidence and will provide the North East public with a great selection of new destinations and extra weekly frequencies, providing more options for leisure and business travel. This will create new jobs for pilots, cabin crew and engineering alongside support services, and will generate economic value for the wider area.
The two based aircraft will see the number of routes operated from Newcastle by Ryanair increase from 7 to 19, including some exciting new destinations such as Milan and Riga. These new routes, alongside extra capacity on current services to destinations, provides our customers with choice not only on where to travel but also on the length of time when visiting friends and family, on holiday or away on business.
We are delighted with the news and look forward to welcoming Ryanair, their crew and staff to their new home at Newcastle International Airport in the near future.”