Ryanair will operate more than 100 weekly flights from the airport as part of its winter programme to destinations including Alicante, Malaga, the Canary Islands, Riga and Warsaw.

The airline said it will have three aircraft based at Leeds Bradford over the winter, which represents a $300m investment and will directly support 90 jobs.

Ryanair is launching its largest winter schedule in the UK, with plans to operate more than 3,000 daily flights to and from 21 airports.

Ryanair’s Head of Communications, Jade Kirwan told The Yorkshire Post : “We had a very strong summer throughout the UK as a whole, and this is reflected in our winter schedule.

"We are planning 15 new routes for the winter schedule this year at Leeds Bradford Airport to seven different countries.

"We are delivering 20 per cent increase in capacity at Leeds Bradford compared with the pre-pandemic winter of 2019.

" We had 1.3m passengers at Leeds Bradford airport pre-pandemic, we are set to hit this figure again this year,’’ she added.

Ryanair has published its winter schedule for flights from Leeds Bradford Airport.

"The fact we are able to maintain three aircraft based at Leeds Bradford gives us the potential to invest for further growth. We already support 1,000 jobs at the airport.”

"We aim to fly 7m passengers from Leeds Bradford by 2030; we currently fly around 1.3m passengers a year. A key part of our strategy is regional development. Bringing passengers, connectivity and investment to places like Leeds Bradford provides a boost for GDP growth. It also make it more likely that businesses or people will settle in an area. It is making the regional economies a lot more accessible."

Ms Kirwan said Ryanair was offering consumers more choice for their winter 2022 and summer 2023 travel plans, at a time when other UK airports have cut capacity and airlines have cancelled thousands of flights.

She added: "During the pandemic, people didn't have the same opportunities to travel and that opened up their eyes to the value of travelling once restrictions were lifted.

"Many people have got itchy feet and have saved up money to support their travel plans, which means they are travelling more for business and pleasure."

Nicola McMullen, the aviation director at Leeds Bradford Airport added: “It’s fantastic to extend our winter 2022 schedule with Ryanair and offer access to some of the most in demand destinations at affordable prices. We’re excited to welcome passengers and holidaymakers over the coming months.”

In August, Ryanair reported another record month of passenger numbers as pent-up demand for holidays outweighed travel disruption and cost-of-living concerns for the low-cost airline.

The company said it flew 16.9m passengers in August, surging 52 per cent from the prior year when Covid-related restrictions were still limiting travel. It marked the fourth month in a row that the business has beaten its own traffic record.

Ryanair operated 92,800 flights in August at a 96 per cent load factor, which is a measure of the proportion of filled seats on a plane.

Ryanair to fly to 15 destinations over winter from Leeds-Bradford airport including Alicante and the Canary Islands