Brexit: We must ‘do right by Northern Ireland’ says Davis

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As of next year, the airline will operate 63 flights every week from Newcastle International Airport, covering 19 destinations. The Irish carrier will also create a permanent base for two of its aircraft at the airport.

Introducing the dozen new flights is expected to directly provide 60 new jobs for the area, as well as around 400 posts indirectly.

The airport currently schedules flights to the likes of Alicante, Gdansk, Malaga and Wroclaw.

This will now expand to include Milan, Gran Canaria, Krakow and Menorca, among others.

This comes after competitor airline easyJet shut down its presence in the North East last year.

Ryanair chief Eddie Wilson praised the investment’s hoped impact on both the region and the struggling aviation sector.

He 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 flights 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.”

He described a “huge pent-up demand” that the airport and the airline could capitalise on, as people have found themselves far more restricted in their travel over the last two years.

An investment at this stage, he added, would put the region in “the best position to grow”.

He said: “People will always want to travel and there’s huge pent-up demand because they haven’t been able to for lots of reasons during the pandemic.

“Lots of things have been put on hold – family events, conferences – and they will come back. It will take a while but it will return, and if airports are doing their stuff now, as Newcastle has, they’ll be in the best position to grow.”

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Those heading up the investment are planning for the two Ryanair aircraft, which will be based at Newcastle International Airport, to hold the promise for even future expansion in the future.

Nick Jones, Newcastle Airport CEO, called this “very significant news for both the airport and the region”.

He added: “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 seven 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.”

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