Ryanair is to open its first base in Bulgaria with a network of 21 routes.
The low-fares carrier will base three aircraft at Sofia airport from October 30.
The new routes include Birmingham, Dublin, Glasgow, Liverpool and Stansted.
The carrier aims to run 90 flights a week from the new eastern Europe base, carrying more than 1.5 million passengers a year and supporting more than 1,000 local jobs.
Chief commercial officer, David O’Brien, said: “This significant growth is an integral part of our continued expansion plans for both Bulgaria and eastern Europe, as we connect Sofia with Europe’s key centres of business with high frequency business-friendly services, including Berlin, Brussels, Dublin, London, Madrid and Milan.”
The announcement came as Ryanair unveiled expanded winter flying schedules from Birmingham, Glasgow and Leeds Bradford airports.
The Yorkshire airport gains a new route to Gran Canaria and a winter service to Faro together with additional frequencies on other services.
Birmingham will gain winter flights to Madrid, Murcia, Verona and Vilnius with extra frequencies to Barcelona, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Malaga, Malta and Tenerife.
Five new routes will run from Glasgow international airport to Alicante, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Malaga and Sofia with more flights added to Berlin.