British low-cost airline, Jet2 has announced a total of twelve new routes from Edinburgh Airport next summer, bringing the total of routes operated by the airline to 26.

Four of the new routes will be new to Edinburgh Airport, while all twelve are new for the airline, operating out of the Scottish capital.

The Scottish capital will now be able to offer passengers the opportunity to travel to both Kefalonia in Greece and Larnaca in Cyprus from May 25, 2016, once weekly. The remaining two new routes for Edinburgh, operated by Jet2, include Vienna, from April 29 and Zante from May 31, 2016, both twice-weekly.

The airline’s other new routes include Antalya and Dalaman in Turkey, to operate from June 23 and 24 respectively, as well as Crete, Paphos and Rhodes, which will all commence service at the end of June 2015.

New services to the Canary Islands will commence in February, including Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Tenerife.

Chief executive of Jet2, Steve Heapy said: "It’s certainly exciting times for us at Edinburgh Airport. We’re giving people the opportunity to jetaway with us to the Canary Islands, Greek Islands and the Eastern Mediterranean for the very first time and our exclusive routes mean people in Scotland have some fantastic new places to visit.”

Jet2’s expansion will mean the airline can carry an extra 150,000 passengers from the airport, and will be basing a new aircraft in Edinburgh.

"This huge expansion not only shows our commitment to and investment in the area but it also gives our loyal local customers even more choice and flexibility when it comes to their holiday planning for next year,” he added.

Jet2 and Jet2holidays will nearly double their route network from Edinburgh with the inauguration of the new routes, and will increase their aircraft seat capacity by 55 percent by basing a fifth aircraft in Edinburgh.

Gordon Dewar, chief executive of Edinburgh Airport, said: "We’re absolutely delighted with today’s announcement. This is great news for Scottish passengers and marks the biggest growth for an airline and holiday company at Edinburgh Airport since we became an independent company.”

The airline said 150 new jobs will be created at Jet2.com and Jet2holidays and within supporting industries as a result of the expansion.