FLYING to Barcelona will be cheaper than getting the train to Manchester when a new service sets off from Blackpool Airport next year - according to the airline behind them.

Flights to Girona, an airport serving the Catalan capital, will start from just £16.99, when Ryanair launches its latest route next March.

Around 100 jobs will be created by the new service, according to airport owners, City Hoppers Ltd.

"More than 50 per cent of passengers flying out of Manchester and Liverpool live within 30 minutes of Blackpool Airport," said City Hoppers chairman, Paul Whelan.

"What we want is for more of those passengers to fly out of Blackpool. We're in a convenient location, with good rail services, motorway connections and we're a hassle free airport with safe parking."

And, despite launching a series of new services from Liverpool, Ryanair says it believes Blackpool has a big future.

"We have seen secondary airports around Europe start with nothing and expand very, very quickly," said Ryanair's Warwick Brady: "We want simple, convenient services for passengers."

Girona is about 50 minutes drive away from Barcelona and a regular bus service links the airport with the city.

Flights will commence on March 31 next year and the route is expected to carry more than 100,000 people each year.

The Barcelona flights will also link Lancashire's aerospace industry with similar businesses in north-eastern Spain.

City Hoppers is continuing to negotiate other new services from Squires Gate and also has big plans for the airport site itself.

"We are already starting to make changes within the terminal," added Mr Whelan: "And we hope to have a new terminal building within two years."