Ryanair has confirmed it will add 14 routes to its winter schedule from London.

In total, the carrier will offer 142 routes from Stansted, Luton and Gatwick later this year.

As travel recovers to pre-Covid levels, Ryanair said its growth continues to lead traffic, tourism recovery and jobs in the UK.

The low-cost carrier will create over 500 new jobs for pilots, cabin crew and engineers at its London airports as it gears up for more growth next summer.

Ryanair chief executive, Michael O’Leary, said: “Ryanair is committed to re-building the London’s tourism industry, jobs and connectivity as we grow across Europe and recover air travel to pre-Covid levels.

“As Ryanair takes delivery of 55 Boeing 737-8200 Max aircraft this winter, we are delighted to announce these 14 new routes from our three London airports in Stansted, Luton and Gatwick.”

Ryanair will be offering new flights from Stansted to Stockholm, Helsinki, Oradea (Rome), Zagreb, Tampere, Treviso and Trapani, while there will be new departures from Luton to Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Grenoble, Naples, Shannon and Turin.

Gatwick will welcome a new route to Malaga.

O’Leary added: “As vaccinations rise and consumer confidence returns, Ryanair again calls on the UK government to scrap PCR tests for fully-vaccinated arrivals and also to suspend air passenger duty (APD), to allow airlines and airports quickly recover connectivity, jobs and tourism in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“APD makes UK airports uncompetitive against lower cost EU airports, which is why Ryanair has added capacity at other EU airports in recent months in the likes of Zagreb, Stockholm, Billund and Riga.

“While Ryanair is committed to its London airports, the lack of government support for aviation and tourism recovery creates further barriers to traffic and growth.”