Following news his airline was facing a writ for £1m from BAA, Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has announced plans to build up the airline's operations at Luton.
The Irish airline is adding nine new routes and four new aircraft as part of a $240m (£130m) investment, just a day after rival easyJet unveiled its own growth plans.
Ryanair is adding new routes to Rome, Venice, Stockholm, Nimes and Dinard in France, Barcelona Girona, Barcelona Reus, and Murcia in Spain, and Esjberg in Denmark.
The carrier, which started operating at Luton in 1986, already flies to Dublin and Milan from the airport. Although the new flights are already available for booking, Ryanair will start operating the routes from next January.
It said the move would create more than 1,000 new jobs in the Luton area.
Mr O'Leary responded to BAA's legal proceedings by lodging a writ at the High Court claiming the airport's operator was abusing its dominant position at Stansted.
The attack on BAA follows threats by the operator of Stansted to take Ryanair, its biggest customer, to court for alleged failure to pay £1m worth of airport charges.
Mr O'Leary insisted his carrier had no intention of abandoning the Essex airport but added it could cut back.
Published Wednesday August 11, 2004
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