Ryanair has announced four new routes from Stansted to Bordeaux, Dortmund, Lisbon and Rabat for next summer.
The news comes as it emerged the Irish carrier has struck a ten-year deal with Stansted to increase its traffic at the Essex airport by seven million passengers per year.
Ryanair has been reducing its traffic at Stansted over the last seven years. In 2012, it had 13.2 million passengers at the airport, down from a peak of 15 million in 2007.
But now the airline has made a ten-year "growth agreement" with Stansted's new owner Manchester Airport Group (MAG) to grow its traffic at the airport by 50 per cent to more than 20 million passengers by 2020.
The agreement is scheduled to begin in April next year.
Ryanair's summer 2014 timetable at Stansted will see a total of 120 routes, including the new services to Bordeaux, Dortmund, Lisbon and Rabat.
Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said: "This agreement, which will create over 7,000 new jobs in Stansted, proves how UK airports can flourish when released from the dead hand of the BAA monopoly and is the first dramatic initiative by MAG to reverse seven years of decline, during which Stansted's traffic fell from 23.8 million to 17.5 million."
MAG chief commercial officer Ken O'Toole added: "The new long-term agreement between Ryanair and MAG at Stansted shows that competition really does work, and it represents great news for both passengers and UK businesses."
Last month, Ryanair was ordered to cut its stake in rival Irish airline Aer Lingus to just 5 per cent (see news, August 28).
Graham Smith
