Cardiff Airport has secured CityJet, part of the Air France airline group, to operate their Glasgow and Paris (Orly) routes and immediately fill the gap left by Flybe.

CityJet will start serving the routes on January 20th 2014, ensuring there is a seamless transition for these vital services from the Welsh capital.

This follows the announcement Flybe made on December 4th it will be withdrawing these routes with effect from January 19th 2014, as a result of the reorganisation of its business.

CityJet’s initial schedule from January 20th will deliver a twice daily weekday service to Glasgow with daily weekend flights.

Paris will be served by a daily flight Monday to Friday and on Sundays.

From the start of the summer schedule on March 30th, flights to Edinburgh and Jersey will be added.

Edinburgh will be served three times a day Monday to Friday with one flight on Saturdays and two on Sundays.

Jersey will be served with five weekly return flights.

The summer schedule will also see a third daily flight added to the Glasgow route on Thursdays and Fridays whilst Paris (Orly) will then be served every day of the week.

By the middle of summer, CityJet will be operating more than 80 flights a week in and out of Cardiff Airport.

Christine Ourmières, CityJet chief executive, said: “We’re very excited to be launching a dynamic new network from Cardiff, and are thrilled to introduce the CityJet service to Wales.

“We are confident that our network and schedule to these four new destinations will be a success – both for the Welsh community and for CityJet.

“We’re really pleased to be working with the team at Cardiff Airport as we share a common commitment to provide convenient, hassle-free travel to popular destinations throughout the UK and Europe.

“Like them, we’re expanding our network and are focused on offering choice for both business and leisure travellers, and providing the service the community wants and needs.”

CityJet offers over 680 flights a week to popular destinations in the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe and is known for its complimentary on-board service.

Cardiff Airport chief executive, Jon Horne, said: “This is fantastic news and I’m delighted CityJet has responded so quickly to pick up these vitally important routes from Cardiff Airport.

“We’re very pleased that there will be continuity in our services to Glasgow and Paris for the tens of thousands of passengers a year for whom these routes are vital.

“It is always good to welcome a new airline to Cardiff; in CityJet’s case it’s really great, given the scale of the commitment they have made to the Airport and to Wales.”