Ryanair launches from Birmingham to Marseille

Budget airline Ryanair has launched a new service connecting England's West Midlands with the south of France.

The airline's service between Birmingham Airport and Marseille will operate three days a week and is expected to bring an additional 40,000 passengers through the hub in its first year.

Birmingham is Ryanair's 25th base and will host flights to 20 destinations provided by the carrier this year.

Travellers can connect to the Scandinavian cities of Oslo and Stockholm, as well as the sunshine destinations of Porto and Trapani, Sicily, from Birmingham.

Peter Vella, the airport's development director, said: "Marseille is just the start of 20 routes that Ryanair has already announced from Birmingham this year, with even more to come for the winter.

"We have already seen the start of their Gerona and Pisa routes."

Mr Vella said the majority of the new routes will start in June and predicted that it will be "a busy summer" at Birmingham Airport.