Ryanair increases routes at Edinburgh airport

Published on Thursday 20 August 2009 12:53

BUDGET airline Ryanair today announced its eight new routes out of Scotland to popular destinations such as Barcelona and Tenerife.

The low-cost operator is increasing its winter schedule to 26 routes out of Edinburgh – a 42% rise on last year's figure.

Edinburgh Airport bosses welcomed the expansion and said it was now the fastest growing airport anywhere in the UK.

The move comes just days after the airline decided to close down or switch nine of its 10 Manchester routes in a row over airport charges.

The no-frills Irish carrier's Edinburgh schedule will concentrate on winter sun and city breaks.

It will fly to Barcelona (Girona), Brussels (Charleroi), Gdansk, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Memmingen (Munich West), Oslo (Torp) and Tenerife this winter from October 30.

The airline is also extending its summer routes to and from Malta and Rome (Ciampino). The routes go on sale tomorrow.

The airline said it will carry two million passengers through Edinburgh this year, sustaining 2,000 local jobs.

Gordon Dewar, managing director of Edinburgh Airport, said: "We are delighted that Ryanair have once again committed to expanding their operation out of Edinburgh Airport, now the fastest growing airport anywhere in the UK.

"These are exciting new destinations, which will give our increasing numbers of passengers an even greater choice of places to jet off to this winter.

"We are particularly pleased to see new routes to Germany, Spain and Norway, key tourism markets for Scotland, particularly over the Christmas and New Year period."