Budget airline Ryanair has added a fifth plane to its fleet at Birmingham Airport as part of a fresh round of investment in the transport hub.
The Irish operator said it was also launching five new European routes for its upcoming winter schedule as it marks 35 years of doing business with the airport.
Two of the five-strong fleet of aircraft based in Solihull will be the new Boeing 737 8200 ‘Gamechanger' planes which it said delivered more seats, burned less fuel and created lower noise emissions.
The new winter destinations are Grenoble and Toulouse in France, Billund in Denmark, Santander in Spain and Swedish capital Stockholm.
They form part of 34 routes in total for this winter, representing more than 280 flights per week.
Ryanair said adding a fifth plane represented an investment worth more than £80 million into Birmingham Airport which would support 150 aviation jobs and more than 1,850 posts indirectly in the local area.
It again called on the UK government to "immediately support airlines by scrapping the aviation tax now in full," adding that a 50 per cent cut on domestic flights from next April was "simply insufficient".
Director of route development Ray Kelliher said: "Ryanair is delighted to announce further growth and investment at our Birmingham base this winter, with our fifth based aircraft, five exciting new routes and two brand new environmentally efficient Boeing 'Gamechanger' aircraft as we celebrate 35 years of successful operations.
"Lower aviation taxes and competitive airport charges provide the foundation for which Ryanair can deliver long-term traffic growth and increased connectivity.
"At a time when other airlines across the UK are cancelling flights and reducing their schedules, we're delighted to make this £82.5 million further investment in Birmingham largely thanks to the hard work and support of the airport.
"If the UK Government wants to see more investments from Ryanair and other airlines next summer, they must scrap the air passenger duty for all flights, or otherwise put the UK at risk of losing air traffic to competing European countries."
Airport chief executive Nick Barton added: "We are thrilled Ryanair is adding to its fleet of aircraft as we toast 35 years of its operation here.
"This long-term move will give customers greater choice and boost economic growth in our region."
