BUDGET airline Ryanair is to announce a major expansion of its Manchester routes, 17 months after axing all but one service.
The Irish carrier's outspoken boss Michael O'Leary was hosting a press conference at Terminal 2 at Manchester, to reveal that Ryanair will be launching a number of new flights over the coming months, and increasing the number of daily flights to Dublin.
Among the destinations Ryanair will fly will be holiday destinations such as Alicante, Faro and Tenerife and also to the Spanish capital Madrid.
He will explain too his rapid change of heart,
having previously fallen out with Manchester Airport bosses over landing fees.
Sources at Manchester Airport said the new agreement with Ryanair is on "commercial terms" - rather than the deal previously sought, whereby the airline would expand at Manchester and in return, not pay for landing slots.
After all but quitting Manchester Ryanair expanded aggressively at Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
The deal at Manchester could potententially bring 600,000 more passengers and £3m a year. A significant number of jobs will be created too.
The Dublin-based carrier operates more than 1,400 flights per day and expects to carry approximately 73.5 million passengers in the current financial year.