Aer Arann has confirmed a new route from Galway to Newcastle will start at the end of June and will create 45 jobs at a new base in Waterford.
The airline also started three new routes today, including services from Waterford to Birmingham, Galway to Bristol and Sligo to Manchester.
To cater for the increased activity at Waterford, Aer Arann has now opened a base with the creation of up to 45 new jobs.
This will be the fourth base Aer Arann has in Ireland adding to those in Dublin, Cork and Galway.
It was announced last month that over the next two years €27.5m will be spent upgrading Waterford airport.
Passenger numbers have increased more than five fold since 2000 to last year's 82,000 at the airport, and it has a target of reaching over 300,000 passengers by 2010.
The three new routes starting today brings the number of Aer Arann services between Ireland and the UK to 23.
The airline currently operates over 600 flights per week across 36 routes in Ireland, the UK and France.
