Ryanair has announced it will open its fifth German base at Cologne in October 2014.

The 68th base in total, Ryanair will operate one aircraft from the city, with five new exciting routes to Dublin, London Stansted, Madrid, Riga and Rome Ciampino.

It is hoped the move will deliver over 700,000 customers per annum to the airport and sustain some 700 “on-site” jobs.

Ryanair will now operate a total of eight routes, with 86 weekly flights, from the base as the carrier invests over $90m at Cologne Airport.

In Cologne today, Ryanair chief marketing officer, Kenny Jacobs said: “The state of North Rhein Westfalia is an important part of the European economy and we want to support bringing business travellers to do business, as well as tourists who want to visit a wonderful part of Germany.”