A total of 21 European destinations are available to book from this morning (September 21) and include an exclusive twice-weekly flight to Madeira.

From the Essex terminal, the group will fly to Lanzarote; Malaga, Alicante, Dubrovnik, Faro, Madeira, Fuerteventura, Girona, Crete (Heraklion), Ibiza, Kos, Larnaca, Gran Canaria, Menorca, Paphos, Majorca, Pula, Reus, Rhodes, Tenerife and Zante, with a total of 83 services a week scheduled.

Stansted will become Jet2.com’s ninth UK base - and its first in the south of England - when flights begin on March 30, 2017, to Alicante, Faro, Majorca and Lanzarote.

To coincide with the launch of the new services, 50,000 seats have been released by the airline at £30 for a one-way flight.

Jet2.com will base six new Boeing 737-800s at the airport – creating a capacity of 800,000 seats from spring next year.

In addition, Jet2holidays has also announced the expansion of its trade team with the appointment of a Stansted-dedicated sales executive to support agents in the region.

Head of trade sales at Jet2holidays Alan Cross said: “Today is a real milestone for Jet2holidays as it marks the day we bring our family-friendly formula to travel agency partners in the south of England.

"Our agency partners are integral to the ongoing growth and success of our business, accounting for a third of sales, so agents should expect the highest level of support from our dedicated team.”

Stansted airport chief executive Andrew Cowan said: “We’re delighted that Jet2.com and Jet2holidays has chosen Stansted as its ninth UK base and the first in the south of England.

"The announcement is a real vote of confidence in Stansted and we look forward to building a strong working relationship with Jet2 to ensure this exciting new partnership is an overwhelming success.”