British Low Cost Airline Flybe has confirmed media reports of a major route expansion programme from Cardiff airport.
This announcement follows press speculation and a report by WalesOnline yesterday that the airline was going to open up 11 new routes.
Starting this summer the finically troubled airline will launch flights to Dublin, Milan, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Belfast, Cork, Geneva, Jersey, Faro, Paris and Munich.
The new routes, some of which are completely new destinations for Flybe, will offer over 500,000 seats in total and the airline doesn't deny the possibility of adding more routes from the Welsh city in the future.
Thanks to support from the Welsh Government, Flybe has made a ten year commitment to fly from Cardiff Airport, and is expected to base one or two of its existing Embraer E195 aircraft at the airport. The first 118-seat aircraft will arrive at Cardiff in June and the second in September depending on load factors.
The new routes are:
Belfast, Cork, Dublin, Dรผsseldorf, Edinburgh, Faro, Glasgow, Jersey, Munich, Milan Malpensa, and Paris Charles de Gaulle. Seats will be on sale from on March 6 along with the publication of full schedules. Fares will be available from £24.99 one way.
Chief executive of Flybe Saad Hammad, said: "We are delighted to launch these exciting new routes from Cardiff Airport. As part of Project Blackbird, we have been looking to find a productive home for our surplus E195 aircraft.
"And we are delighted at this 10 year agreement with Cardiff Airport which involves us basing two of these jets there to serve the Welsh market with great value fares and further improving UK regional connectivity. We continue to seek solutions for the remaining seven E195 Project Blackbird aircraft."