Ryanair launches new cheap flights to Spain, Italy and Dublin for winter 2021

A total of 11 new flight routes are launching from UK cities

Ryanair’s new routes take the network to 400 destinations this winter (iStock)

Budget airline Ryanair has announced 11 new flight routes from UK cities this winter, with seats from £19.99.

Fliers from Birmingham will gain direct links to Bucharest in Romania, Milan and Turin in Italy, and the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.

Malaga and Barcelona are new destinations for the airline from Bristol Airport, while Bournemouth locals will benefit from services to Budapest and Wroclaw in Poland.

Other routes include Gatwick to Malaga, Cardiff to Dublin and Luton to Grenoble, all of which will depart six times a week.

Part of the company’s recovery programme, the new additions will take Ryanair’s total routes to 400 this winter. The carrier is aiming to capitalise on British travellers becoming more confident in booking city breaks to Europe.

“As Europe’s largest airline, we are delighted to announce 11 new winter routes from UK cities Bournemouth, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff and London for those who are looking to enjoy a sunny winter getaway or take in the sights on a city break,” said the airline’s director of commercial, Jason McGuinness.

The company has also launched a sale on flights up until March 2022, set to run until midnight on 19 August, with fares of £19.99 available on numerous routes.

Passengers also have the reassurance of a “zero change fee”, meaning they can change bookings made before 30 September 2021 with no charges.

This comes after the airline reported losses of €3m (£2.6m) each day between April and June 2021. This was even higher than the same quarter in 2020, when traffic collapsed altogether.

Michael O’Leary, the chief executive of Ryanair’s holding company, blamed “significant uncertainty around travel ‘green lists’ (particularly in the UK) and extreme government caution in Ireland” for the continuing losses.

The company also recently announced that it will cease flying from Southend airport at the end of October.