Easyjet is now flying to three new venues from Newcastle

On Monday flights from Newcastle to Irish capital Dublin were doubled from one to two a day.

There will is now an additional flight from Dublin to Newcastle at 2045 GMT, and from Newcastle to Dublin at 2210 GMT.

The move comes a day after fellow budget airline Easyjet introduced flights from Tyneside to Barcelona, Alicante, and Belfast.

Easyjet will also introduce flights from Newcastle to Paris, Prague, and Bristol, in the autumn.

It is hoped the new flights will bring many more tourists to the region and boost the region's bid for Newcastle Gateshead to be named 2008 Capital of Culture.

Easyjet's marketing manager Moira Findlay said: "The new routes will also help to attract tourists to the area and provide a huge boost to local businesses."

Ryanair's UK Sales Manager Kathryn Munro said: "In less than six months Newcastle has gone from having no Ryanair services to a double-daily frequency to Dublin."

John Parkin, chief executive at Newcastle Airport, said: "These flights will add hundreds of thousands of low cost seats from Newcastle every year."