Ryanair has launched its biggest-ever Milan Malpensa winter schedule, with seven new routes on offer later this year.

Flights to Alicante, Eindhoven, Katowice, Lamezia, Liverpool, Palermo and Valencia will be added to the schedule.

Ryanair hopes the flights will deliver 1.7 million customers per annum to the airport.

At the same time, the low-cost carrier argues 1,300 jobs will be supported at Milan Malpensa Airport, as Ryanair grows its winter capacity by 54 per cent.

In Milan Malpensa, Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary, said: “We are pleased to launch our biggest ever Milan Malpensa winter schedule.

“We are also pleased to report record bookings on our Malpensa summer 2017 schedule, so Italian customers can look forward to even lower fares.”

Ryanair will continue to connect Milan Malpensa with major business centres on high frequency, low fare services including Brussels (two daily) and London (two daily).

Pietro Modiano, president of SEA, said: “Ryanair today announced its most extensive winter schedule from Milan Malpensa and I thank the company and its chief executive Michael O’Leary for your confidence in our airport that we will reciprocate in terms of efficiency and quality of services offered.

“This announcement confirms the positive trend that Malpensa airport had in 2016 with important results.

“The traffic data are positive, with an increase of 3.1 per cent of the airport system.

“Milan Malpensa, in particular, there has been an uninterrupted growth for over 19 consecutive months.

“The increase in passenger traffic of Milan Malpensa, among other things, was significant not only in the historically most valuable component to the airport, that relating to the intercontinental traffic, but was determined to an important extent by the low cost traffic, two components that have proven that they can live together virtuously, as already happens in many large airports.”