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Budget airline, Ryanair, in typically dramatic fashion, has helped to secure hundreds of jobs at Manchester Airport, by introducing a series of new routes to Europe. The carrier will begin flying to Alicante and Madrid in Spain, Faro in Portugal, and Tenerife in the Canary Islands from April 14 2011, and boost the frequency of flights from Manchester to Dublin by two flights per day.

The move will be seen as penance by many observers. Ryanair famously axed 44 flights on nine routes out of Manchester in 2009, resulting in the loss of 600 jobs during the height of the recession. The blue-and-yellow carrier had previously held the airport to ransom, offering an extra 28 flights, or 400,000 new passengers, in exchange for reduced landing fees. The request was denied by airport bosses, and flights to Bremen and Frankfurt in Germany, among others, were pulled on October 1 2009.

Whether Manchester finally acquiesced to Ryanair’s demands is debatable but unlikely, given that reduced fees for one airline would set a precedent for similar concessions for Flybe, Monarch, and the other carriers residing at the airport. Manchester’s director, Andrew Harrison, said that a “mutually beneficial agreement” had been reached with Ryanair, but gave no other insights into the airline’s sudden change of heart.

Ryanair chief, Michael O’Leary, claimed that the airline’s expansion would bring an extra 600,000 passengers into Manchester, equating to a 5% traffic boost “in one stroke.” The Irishman went on to say that there would be a “mix of jobs saved and jobs created,” returning the carrier’s workforce to pre-2010 levels.

Tickets for Alicante and Faro begin at £29.99 for a one-way trip, including all taxes and charges. Madrid and Tenerife come in slightly more expensive at £39.99. A price comparison table on the airline’s website indicates that Ryanair’s flight from Manchester to Tenerife costs almost £30 less than travelling the same route with Monarch, and £25 less than with bitter rival, easyJet. Tickets for Dublin are on sale at £15.99.