The firm has said it will increase its Edinburgh fleet from eight to ten aircrafts, with five being the new Boeing 737 8-200 aircraft.

Ryanair plans to grow its passenger numbers to 225 million by 2025 and is targeting to have 163 million passengers by the end of the financial year ending 2023.

The airline has already invested $200m for two additional based aircraft for this summer. The new aircraft will be more eco-friendly as it is said to burn 16% less fuel and noise emissions have been reduced by 40% with the aircraft delivering 4% more seating.

The investment into Edinburgh Airport will support 300 highly paid aviation jobs and 3,000 indirect jobs at Edinburgh airport.

The airline unveiled eight new destinations for this summer to Bari, Cork, Madrid, Marrakech, Nimes, Palermo, Paris and Santiago. It is planning to have 250 weekly flights and is said to be its largest schedule since pre-pandemic, which is 50 more than pre-pandemic.

Gordon Dewar, chief executive at Edinburgh Airport, said: “All we are asking for is for the government to create a trading environment to help us recover and doesn’t punish us.

“Ryanair’s continued expansion at Edinburgh is extremely encouraging and is a huge show of confidence in the Edinburgh market.

“Aviation will play an important role in the recovery of the Scottish and UK economies and to be in a position where Ryanair are offering more than they did pre-pandemic is a very good place for us to be in, especially when five of the based aircraft will be the quietest and most environmentally friendly in the industry.

“We know there’s a pent-up demand for travel and we want to offer choice to people, which is why we are looking to both retain and grow Edinburgh’s connectivity. We must work with partners including airlines and governments to ensure Scotland is flexible in its approach and is seizing new opportunities that arise.”