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A new six-times-weekly flight to Lisbon in Portugal is now available from Manchester Airport. The route, introduced by European flag-carrier TAP Portugal earlier this month, has already attracted more than 15,000 bookings, according to the Manchester Airport website.

Carlos Paneiro, vice president of sales at TAP, said that the route from Manchester was “an important part” of the carrier’s global expansion plans. “The UK is the number one market for Portugal, in terms of inbound tourism,” Mr Paneiro explained.

TAP is primarily an intercontinental airline, providing flights from Lisbon Portela Airport to Miami in the US, Sao Paulo and Porto Alegre in Brazil, and the Cape Verde Islands among others. The introduction of a route from England to Portugal is ostensibly a way of driving traffic towards TAP’s long-haul routes from Portela Airport.

Manchester Airport previously offered just three flights to Portugal, namely Ponta Delgada in the Azores, Funchal on Madeira, and the city of Porto on the Portuguese mainland. However, Lisbon was on many travellers’ wish lists, as evidenced by the success of TAP’s inaugural flight to the ancient city, which achieved a load factor of 75%.

Airport boss Andrew Harrison was convinced of the route’s success even before the first TAP plane had departed the Ringway hub. Angie Robinson, chief at Manchester’s inward investment firm MIDAS, was equally optimistic, referring to the new flight as “fantastic”.

Tickets for the trip to Lisbon begin at £55, taxes included. Carriage of up to 15kg of golf equipment, for passengers interested in the Paco do Lumiar and Golfe do Estoril courses, and “generous” baggage allowances, are included in the price of the flight.