´óÏó´«Ã½

Up to 200 jobs will be created at Birmingham Airport by the expansion of an airline's fleet, according to an airport spokesman.

Monarch Airlines is launching five new routes from the airport across Italy, Croatia and Greece from next summer.

Two Airbus A320 aircraft will help with extra demand.

Paul Kehoe, chief executive officer of Birmingham Airport, was encouraged to see the expansion in what he called a "difficult market".

He said: "With the airport's considerable investment in facilities and with plans to commit £100m over the next 10 years, the industry is clearly impressed with the work we are doing.

"We have enjoyed a long-standing relationship with the airline and we look forward to working further with Monarch and building on our successful partnership with them to promote and launch their new routes."

Monarch has operated from Birmingham since 2005. The airline also uses London Gatwick, London Luton and Manchester airports in the UK.

The new routes will see passengers flown to Rome, Milan and Venice in Italy, Dubrovnik in Croatia and Heraklion in Crete.

Managing Director of Monarch, Kevin George said: "We are all very excited to be adding two additional aircraft to our Birmingham fleet and introducing our first flights to Italy and Croatia, which is fantastic news for our customers in the Midlands and cements Birmingham as one of Monarch's key UK airports."

Last month bosses from Birmingham City Council and the airport met with senior managers from United Airlines and the Chicago Aviation Commissioner to look at the possibility of re-introducing flights between Birmingham and Chicago.