Norwich Airport welcomes new Ryanair flights

Michelle and Barry Stewart were on the first Ryanair flight from Norwich Airport to Alicante

A budget airline has introduced three new flights to a city airport.

Ryanair's first flights to Alicante, Faro and Malta took off from Norwich Airport on Monday.

Michelle Stewart, from Norwich, paid £63 for a return ticket to Benidorm and said the tickets were "cheap as chips".

Richard Pace, the airport's managing director, said that although the flights have been launched to run during summer, "the aspiration is to have year round flights of Ryanair".

'Massive deal'

Ryanair has planned to run 12 flights per week to and from Norwich Airport throughout the summer.

Craig Easterbrook, from Mulbarton, Norfolk, was travelling from the airport to Alicante with his family. He said: "It is great to be able to come just round the corner and hopefully soon we will be in the sunshine."

Craig Easterbrook, from Mulbarton, Norfolk, was flying with his family to Alicante on Easter Monday

Mr Pace said: "This is a massive deal for Norwich Airport."

"We have recruited about 60 extra staff because the turnaround time for a Ryanair flight is 25 minutes, so we need to be very efficient with our service."

Mr Pace added: "The twice-weekly flights to Alicante, Faro and Malta are good news for connectivity for the region and offer increased choice for passengers from their local airport."