AN airline flying out of Southampton Airport has today launched two new routes to Europe.

Flybe is ending the year on the high after announcing new flights to Milan Malpensa and Bastia in Corsica.

The two routes are part of its new 2015 summer schedule boosted to 28 routes with a choice of 320 a week including the retention of four of its popular Mediterranean destinations.

It follows a record-breaking summer with a landmark 200,000 passengers passing through the airport's doors in August - an increase of three per cent on the same time last year and highest monthly footfall in seven years.

It also comes after an announcement that Heathrow Airport Holdings (HAH) will sell Southampton Airport in a £1billion deal to a consortium led by infrastructure giant Ferrovial and Australia-based Macquarie, due to be finalised in the New Year.

Holidaymakers are already eager to snap up their next summer breaks from the programme which is also retaining its popular sun routes to Alicante, Faro, Malaga and Palma in Mallorca.

It will also be the first summer of operation for the Flybe Shuttle service to and from Jersey to Aberdeen with stop offs at Southampton and Leeds Bradford airports.

There will also be the return of the peak summer travel destinations to France in Avignon, Bordeaux, Brest and Limoges.

Meanwhile its ski routes to Chambery, Geneva, Grenoble and Salzburg will be extended to April to accommodate Easter holiday travel.

Bastia, located on the northern tip of the French island of Corsica, is a thriving ferry and cruise ship port sitting between the sea and the mountains.

Milan is one of Europe's most ancient cities with more than 26 centuries of history and heritage and renowned as Italy's thriving cosmopolitan business capital offering everything from shopping and nightlife to football, opera and fashion.

Flybe chief commercial officer Paul Simmons said: “We are committed to responding to our customers' needs and I am really pleased that we have been able to create a schedule that continues our sun routes for next summer.

“Our two new routes to Bastia in Corsica and to Milan will give our customers the opportunity for the first time to visit these attractive destinations direct from Southampton.

“Over the last twelve months we have continued to grow and develop the airline to provide the most cost-effective, efficient and flexible service for our passengers. Our 2015 Summer schedule boosts further the large selection of flights to great city and sun destinations.”

Southampton managing director Dave Lees said he is “delighted” to launch the new routes and added: “Flights to popular summer sun destinations in the Algarve, Alicante, Malaga, Majorca and Verona will also return next year, so people from this region will have a bigger choice of holiday destinations than ever.”

The company's One Stop to the World service allows Southampton customers seamless long haul travel with seven codeshare partners via Dublin and Manchester airports.

Onward connections to Asia, Canada and the US available are available with the airline's newest codeshare partners Cathay Pacific, Finnair and Aer Lingus when flights are booked either direct from those airlines' websites or through a local travel agent.

Tickets for its summer schedule from March 29 to September 3 range from £24.99 one way inclusive of taxes and charges.

See flybe.com for more information.