RYANAIR is expanding its winter network from Edinburgh Airport with four new routes, Cork, Madrid, Palermo and Paris Beauvais. This brings the total number of destinations served from the Scottish capital up to 50.

The no-frills carrier announced the addition of winter routes to Knock, Tallinn, Shannon and Turin earlier in the summer.

Fares are available at £19.99 one-way for travel until the end of March 2022 if booked by midnight on Sunday.

Marketing director Dara Brady said: “Ryanair remains committed to re-building Scotland’s tourism industry and strengthening connectivity as Ryanair continues to grow in Europe and travel returns to pre-pandemic level.

“As Ryanair takes delivery of 55 Boeing 737-8200 ‘Gamechanger’ aircraft this winter, we are delighted to announce these four new routes from Edinburgh on the back of the recent Scottish travel announcement – now operating a total of 50 routes.”

He reiterated a demand for Air Passenger Duty to be either scrapped or suspended “to allow airlines quickly recover connectivity, jobs and tourism in the aftermath of the pandemic”.

Brady added: “APD makes Scottish airports very uncompetitive versus Europe, where Ryanair continues to add capacity, having opened a number of bases in recent months in the likes of Agadir, Zagreb, Billund, Stockholm, Riga and Turin.

“While Ryanair is committed to Scotland and its Edinburgh airport, the lack of government support continues to create further barriers to boosting traffic and growth.”

Edinburgh airport aviation director Kate Sherry said: “We know people need and want to travel and with restrictions easing, we want to provide as many options as possible for them to finally take that trip they’ve been waiting for.

“It’s clear to see there is confidence in the Edinburgh market as one for sustainable growth and it is good news that Ryanair are working with us to add new routes where possible and help people return to travel safely.”