The airline will offer a total of 63 weekly return flights from March next year to destinations including popular summer holiday destinations such as Ibiza, Malaga and Malta.

It will also introduce flights to Palma, Limoges, Montpellier, Nantes, Carcassonne, Pisa, Venice (Treviso), Krakow, Faro, Knock and Murcia. Tickets are available from today.

The announcement follows the decision last month to add five new routes from Prestwick Airport in Glasgow.

Ryanair and other low-cost airlines are now more expensive on some short-haul routes than British Airways, an investigation by The Sunday Times has found.

A survey of flights to popular European destinations identified 10 on which it is more expensive to fly with Ryanair than British Airways, because BA includes as standard many of the services for which the low-cost airline charges extra.

Rising passenger numbers and lower fuel prices helped Ryanair to make a 136.5m euros (£118m) net profit between April and June, up from 21m euros last year.

The budget carrier said that passenger numbers grew by 11% from the same period a year earlier – though its sales income fell slightly.

The carrier spent 42% less on fuel – having decided not to hedge its bills when oil prices were high.

The move, announced by Michael O’Leary, the airline’s chief executive, will 10 of the routes operated by the airline being cut completely and frequency cuts on another 30.

Where the cuts will fall still has to be announced, but Mr O’Leary told the Daily Telegraph, that two or three Irish services would be cut completely while the rest would be on the continent.

Ryanair is, according to the airline’s outspoken chief executive, “growing like gangbusters” and its success would be even greater but for the the decision by the British and Irish governments to slap a tax on passengers

Equally the inexorable growth would continue but for BAA, the owners of Stansted, who are accused of demanding unjustified landing fees from the airlines which operate from the airport.

Ryanair’s practice of charging passengers extra for using credit and debit cards could be challenged following a court ruling in Germany.

Telegraph Travel learnt this week that the no-frills airline lost a court case in Germany last month over the “handling charges” it imposes on customers booking online.

The no-frills airline, renowned for its “hidden charges”, was referred to the OFT following a number of complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

Ryanair has promised to give greater prominence to information regarding “optional” charges, such as those for checking in luggage, and will provide clearer information on its promotions and low price guarantee.

“We welcome Ryanair’s action which we believe will make it easier for consumers to access the information they need when choosing low cost flights,” said Mike Haley, the OFT’s director of consumer markets.

Ryanair plans to close its website for upgrade work, but passengers must still check in online or face a £40 charge.

The Ryanair.com site will be unavailable between 7pm on Wednesday June 24 and 5am on Thursday June 25.

Online check-in will not be possible during the shutdown and the airline will be unable to take bookings for the ten-hour period. Additionally, the airline’s UK reservations call centre is open 9am to 5.45pm – so no bookings can be taken over the phone either.

Spain’s royal palace expressed its annoyance Friday at Ryanair’s advertisements portraying Queen Sofia, who recently flew on the Irish budget airline, without her permission.

The company, known for its controversial ad campaigns and for its use of images of celebrities without their permission, released an ad with a photo of the wife of King Juan Carlos and the slogan “fly like a monarch”.

The proposals are the latest initiatives being considered by the carrier as it continues trying to cut costs.

Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s chief executive, said the airline was ready to charge passengers for using the onboard toilets.

But the company believes that it could save money if it did not have to pay for baggage handlers to transport suitcases from the terminal to the aircraft.

Currently passengers are charged £10 to put a bag into the hold.

The suggestion is the latest initiative the Irish airline is considering, and seems likely to raise similar criticism.

Mr O’Leary hinted at the move in an interview with Jeff Randall on Sky television last night.

Discussing the airline’s cost-cutting measures as it drew to a close, Mr Randall asked if he would charge for sick bags.

Mr O’Leary replied: “Yes.”

Spain’s Queen Sofia gave a lesson in austerity amid the economic crisis when she flew on a budget airline for a reported GBP 13 (EUR 15).

The Spanish monarch travelled by Ryanair but a royal palace spokesman would not confirm the cost reported by Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper on Tuesday.

“The reason was not the cost or the company but that it was the best option” to get to London from the northern Spanish city of Santander, a palace spokesman told AFP.

Ryanair said today that it expects to increase profits in the current financial year to between €200m (£173m) and €300m as it wins passengers from rivals.

Michael O’Leary, the airline’s maverick chief executive, said “in this recessionary environment we intend to continue to offer European consumers… better value just like Aldi, Lidl, IKEA and McDonalds are doing in their respective industries.”

Ryanair has reported its first annual loss after it was hit by higher fuel costs and had to write down the value of its stake in rival Aer Lingus.

The Irish airline made a net loss of 169m euros ($239m; £146m) in the year to 31 March. This compares with a profit of 481m euros a year before.

Annual sales at the budget carrier increased 8.4% to 2.94bn euros.