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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Ryanair to open Birmingham base | Ryanair to open Birmingham base |
| (9 minutes later) | |
| Budget airline Ryanair has announced a new base at Birmingham International Airport. | Budget airline Ryanair has announced a new base at Birmingham International Airport. |
| Twenty-two destinations will be available from the airport as a result of a deal which was finalised late on Monday evening. | Twenty-two destinations will be available from the airport as a result of a deal which was finalised late on Monday evening. |
| Ryanair will base two aircraft in Birmingham initially, rising to 10 over the next five years. | Ryanair will base two aircraft in Birmingham initially, rising to 10 over the next five years. |
| It is estimated that an extra five million passengers will go through the airport in the next five years. | It is estimated that an extra five million passengers will go through the airport in the next five years. |
| The airline intends to begin operating the first of its new routes from April while the other services should be up and running in July. | The airline intends to begin operating the first of its new routes from April while the other services should be up and running in July. |
| NEW ROUTES FROM BIRMINGHAM Barcelona, SpainBiarritz, FranceBillund, DenmarkBologna, ItalyBratislava, SlovakiaBydgoszcz, PolandDinard, FranceDublin, Republic of IrelandGdansk, PolandMarseille, FranceOlbia, ItalyOslo, NorwayPerpignan, FrancePisa, ItalyPoitiers, FrancePorto, PortugalShannon, Republic of IrelandStockholm, SwedenTrieste, ItalyReus, SpainRzeszow, PolandTrapani, Italy | |
| Ryanair's head Michael O'Leary said: "Direct international routes are fundamental to the economic development of a city like Birmingham. | Ryanair's head Michael O'Leary said: "Direct international routes are fundamental to the economic development of a city like Birmingham. |
| "This route count will more than double as a result of Ryanair's $700m (£356m) investment in Birmingham, bringing with it a significant increase in European visitors and jobs for the West Midlands." | "This route count will more than double as a result of Ryanair's $700m (£356m) investment in Birmingham, bringing with it a significant increase in European visitors and jobs for the West Midlands." |
| The airline's spokesman Peter Sherrard said the airport had snatched the deal from "under the nose" of another UK airport. | The airline's spokesman Peter Sherrard said the airport had snatched the deal from "under the nose" of another UK airport. |
| Many of the 22 routes will be new to the airport and will include flights to airports in Spain, France, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Sweden and Denmark. | |
| Peter Vella, the airport's business development director, said: "Today's announcement means many more new routes from the Midlands' premier airport and allows people to fly from within their region. | |
| "But it also means that there is tremendous opportunity for people to travel to the Midlands as well, for business as well as for pleasure." | "But it also means that there is tremendous opportunity for people to travel to the Midlands as well, for business as well as for pleasure." |
| Jerry Blackett, chief executive of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, said: "International trade is in our veins and the Ryanair expansion means more choice and more destinations." | Jerry Blackett, chief executive of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, said: "International trade is in our veins and the Ryanair expansion means more choice and more destinations." |