Ryanair to expand in Manchester

Ryanair is set to launch 20 new routes from Manchester Airport by next summer, in addition to the six it already operates there.

The expansion comes less than 18 months after the airline pulled out of many routes from Manchester, in a dispute over costs.

But the Irish no-frills carrier has now struck a multi-million pound deal with the airport. New routes from Ryanair will include flights to Barcelona, Brussels, Ibiza, Rome, Paris and Milan.

The Irish carrier said it would add two aircraft from October and another two next year. It calculates that 2,000 new jobs could be created in the North-west as a result, both at the airport, with pilots, cabin crew, and as a result of other work generated in the local economy.