AIRLINE bosses braved the elements this morning to officially launch nine new routes from Bournemouth Airport.

Flybe Chief Executive Officer Saad Hammad and airport Managing Director Paul Knight took to the tarmac to unveil the Spirit of Bournemouth in front of invited guests.

The launch party was held to celebrate new routes to UK and other European cities as well as popular holiday destinations.

Mr Hammad told the Daily Echo: "We have a mixture of business and leisure routes with exciting holiday destinations and important cities.

"We are trying to serve all the needs of the community whether they are travelling on business or leisure.

"It will also allow people from all over Europe to come to Bournemouth and the beautiful area around it."

Mr Hammad said more than two million people live within an hour of Bournemouth airport, making it the perfect choice for so many new routes.

Mr Knight told guests: "This is a very special day for us. Five years ago we opened this terminal just as the recession hit this country.

"This brings lots of opportunities for inbound tourism as well as the normal holiday routes."

Some of the new routes are already up and running with the remainder starting this week.

They include Glasgow, Amsterdam, Dublin, Jersey, Manchester, Paris, Biarritz, Deauville and Toulon.

It is thought the new routes could bring an extra 300,000passengers to the airport.

When the routes were announced earlier this year, Flybe's Chief Commercial Officer, Paul Simmons, said they  "mark the beginning of Flybe establishing a real presence to better serve Dorset customers."

He added: "It gives easy access to attractive leisure destinations and the extensive choice of seamless, regional connections available through our Manchester hub."