Ryanair will open eight new routes from Shannon to Berlin, Faro, Fuerteventura, Krakow, Munich, Nice, Paris and Warsaw from April 2014, which will deliver an additional 300,000 passengers each year and support 300 new on-site jobs at Shannon.

This growth is the first 300,000 of an extra one million passengers per annum that Ryanair will deliver at Irish airports in direct response to the government’s budget decision to scrap the €3 travel tax from April 2014.

Ryanair is in continuing discussions with the four other main Irish airports – Cork, Dublin, Kerry and Knock – to finalise its growth plans for summer 2014 and has revealed it hopes to announce more route and frequency growth from Ireland in the coming weeks.

In Shannon, Ryanair’s Michael Cawley said: “Ryanair is pleased to announce 8 new routes and increased frequency on the Stansted route from Shannon in April 2014, which will deliver 300,000 additional passengers per annum and support 300 new on-site jobs at Shannon.

“The scrapping of the air travel tax will help restore Ireland’s competitiveness and attractiveness to overseas visitors from the UK and continental Europe in particular. Having met with all five of the main Irish airports, we hope to announce further new route and traffic growth plans over the coming weeks.”