Ryanair has said it will base one of its new Boeing 737-800 planes at Cork Airport, adding two new routes to Dublin and London's Gatwick Airport.
Chief executive Michael O'Leary said Ryanair's four Cork routes would now deliver one million passengers a year. The two new routes start operating on November 24. Ryanair already operates flights to Liverpool and Stansted. Cork will be the airline's 15th European base.
Earlier the airline said it would start a new daily service from Knock Airport to London Luton on October 30. The airline already flies to Stansted and Gatwick from Knock. It says the new service will deliver 100,000 passengers to the area.
Ryanair is also adding a new route from Shannon to Malaga in Spain from November 2. It will fly twice a week.
The airline also announced this afternoon that it has postponed plans to launch a base at Hamburg Luebeck airport in Germany. Ryanair said this followed the decision of the Higher Administrative Court of Schleswig-Holstein to rule against planning approval to extend the runway, expand the main taxiway and upgrade the instrument landing system.
Ryanair's planned expansion at the airport had been subject to this approval being granted and these works being completed. The airline will keep its existing operation at the airport.
Michael O'Leary said that Ryanair will announce another base in Europe later this week.
