RYANAIR will return to Bournemouth Airport next year after a longer-than-usual winter break.

The low-cost airline will begin its spring/summer 2013 timetable from March 14 with 15 routes currently on offer for travellers.

Passengers are currently able to book for flights to Alicante, Carcassone, Faro, Fuerteventura, Girona Barcelona, Gran Canaria, Ibiza, Lanzarote, Malaga, Malta, Mucia, Palma Mallorca, Pisa, Tenerife and Wroclaw from March 14.

Flights provided by the airline have now stopped for the winter.

In previous years the spring schedule has started in February as opposed to mid-March this year.

Ryanair spokesperson Stephen McNamara confirmed that the flights would begin again on March 14.

He said all the routes were available on the website to book now but he was unsure as to whether they would be adding any new routes this year.

“I believe we are beginning the schedule around two weeks later than last year and that is because of the oil prices – we have 80 planes grounded this winter across Europe,” he said.

“We have tried to identify when demand starts to pick up at Bournemouth and that would appear to be mid-March.”

Paul Knight, managing director of Bournemouth Airport said: “It remains a testing environment for airlines in the current marketplace but we continue to work with them in order to bring more routes to Bournemouth Airport.

“The decision to come back for the summer a few weeks later is one we understand and we know Ryanair will be back next year with a strong programme which we’ll be helping to promote for residents in the South West of England.”

Government blamed for decision

It was in 2010 that budget airline Ryanair first ceased operations from Bournemouth Airport for three months in the winter.

The company blamed the government’s air passenger duty tax for the decision and said following a review it might return to a full 12-month operation the year after.

But in 2011, the airline took the same decision and again stopped flights for three months.

Should the airline return in mid-March 2013, it will be its longest winter break from Bournemouth airport since the arrangements started.