Wizz Air has announced an expansion of its Lithuanian operations.

The Hungarian low-cost carrier will be adding one new Airbus A320ceo aircraft to its Vilnius base. Wizz Air will operate five new routes from the base, including Vilnius to Birmingham three times a week and Vilnius to Liverpool John Lennon which will operate twice weekly.

The announcement of the new routes follows recent growth in Wizz Air’s UK network which includes opening new bases at Gatwick Airport and Doncaster Sheffield Airport. Wizz Air is launching flights to Athens, Naples, Lanzarote and Malta from London Gatwick and to Alicante, Malaga, Larnaca, Lublin, Kotice, Faro and Suceava from Doncaster Sheffield.

The airline has carried almost 7.7 million passengers on its Vilnius routes since 2011. With today’s announcement, the carrier will have a fleet of three aircraft at its Vilnius base. Wizz Air says it remains highly committed to Lithuania and the newly allocated capacity of 450,000 seats per year will further contribute to the Lithuanian aviation market and to the creation of over 35 new direct jobs and over 335 indirect jobs in the region. Wizz Air now offers 24 routes to 14 countries from Vilnius.

Wizz Air chief commercial officer George Michalopoulos said: “We are delighted to announce further expansion of our local network by adding the new Airbus A320ceo aircraft in our Vilnius base. By introducing five new routes from Vilnius and two from Tallinn, we provide customers with opportunities to explore new cultures and cities.

“We are confident that Wizz Air’s ultra-low fares and expanded route network will make travel affordable to ever more passengers as well as contribute to the ramp up of the local tourism sector. The WIZZ team looks forward to welcoming customers old and new on-board our young and green fleet of Airbus aircraft very soon.”