Ryanair will fly three new routes out of Norwich Airport to desirable Mediterranean destinations from next spring, it has been revealed. 

The budget airline will run flights to Malta, Alicante and Faro on Mondays and Fridays from April 1, as well as a host of return journeys. 

Aviation analyst Sean Moulton shared the news with his 16,600 followers on X, along with detailed flight times and numbers.

Norwich Evening News: Flight times and aircraft numbers have been loaded onto the Ryanair website but are not yet available to buyFlight times and aircraft numbers have been loaded onto the Ryanair website but are not yet available to buy (Image: Sean Moulton)

Tickets are not yet on sale but have been loaded onto Ryanair's online system ahead of the new year, screenshots show, which Mr Moulton said he expects to be available for purchase "soon". 

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Norwich Airport currently operates flights to 18 destinations in nine countries, with connections to 150 more locations via Amsterdam. 

Journeys to Malta and Spanish port city Alicante have been previously available with KLM and the now-defunct Flybe, but services were cancelled shortly before the Covid pandemic. 

Portuguese destination Faro, however, is a new location for the city airport, which will be provided by a 6.40pm to 9.40pm outbound or 3.15pm to 6.15pm inbound flight.

Norwich Airport has been contacted for comment and is understood to be close to confirming its first association with Ryanair, which flies regularly from Stansted.

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Vicky Samwell-Buckenham, manager at Norwich-based agency Oyster Travel, said the routes would only be good news for the region. 

Norwich Evening News: Three new routes will be added to Norwich Airport's current roster of 18Three new routes will be added to Norwich Airport's current roster of 18

"People will be over the moon to hear they can fly to these destinations from Norwich Airport again," she said.

"Our customers always love to fly from Norwich and will be happy to continue to support the airport going forward.

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She added: "It will be a happy return for those who remember being able to fly to Malta or Malaga with Flybe in the past."

Tui is currently Norwich Airport's biggest operator by destination with nine routes in total, but has regularly attracted criticism in recent years for delays and cancellations.

The operator announced in September that it would be running a second weekly flight to Tenerife, between October and April.