Irish ULCC Ryanair plans to operate five routes from Łódź Airport Central Poland (LCJ) during the upcoming winter 2022/23 season—more than double the existing number of services on offer.

Alongside existing flights to Dublin (DUB) and London Stansted (STN) from LCJ, the airline intends to open three new destinations in Belgium, Italy and Spain.

The first of the three new routes to launch will begin on Oct. 30, connecting the Polish city with Alicante (ALC). Flights will be offered twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays.

A 3X-weekly service to Milan Bergamo (BGY) will open the following day, operating on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, while a route to Brussels Charleroi (CRL) starts on Nov. 1, flying on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

According to data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser, all three routes are currently unserved from Łódź. Ryanair previously offered a connection to Milan Bergamo, but flights last operated in October 2013.

Anna Midera, president of the board and CEO of Łódź Airport, told Routes: “Each signal showing that we are back to the development path is particularly important, especially after the pandemic and conflict in Ukraine. I am glad that Ryanair's development in Poland includes Łódź and Central Poland.”

Łódź, which will host Routes Europe 2023, is located about 140 km southwest of the Polish capital Warsaw. The city is the third largest in Poland and home to more than 1.1 million inhabitants, with an airport catchment of about 2.5 million people.

At present, Ryanair serves the city twice a week from Dublin and four times per week from London Stanstead. The latter is scheduled to rise to 6X-weekly in July. During winter 2023/23, DUB will remain at two weekly frequencies, while STN will become 5X-weekly.

Midera added: “I have been managing Łódź Airport for five years. The good cooperation with the local authorities and the business environment meant that we are taken into account in Ryanair's traffic development plans.

“It's very important because of that in less than one year, Łódź will become the aviation capital of Poland and Europe when we host Routes Europe 2023.”

Ryanair’s expansion comes just days after LCJ celebrated the launch of Czech carrier Smartwing’s new service to Rhodes (RHO). The nonstop leisure route will operate weekly on Mondays until the end of September.