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Humberside Airport is to team up with budget airline Ryanair for the first time in four-and-a-half years. The modest hub, located on the east coast of England, could potentially gain an extra 20,000 passengers a year as part of the deal, which will see a new twice-weekly route to Alicante in Spain introduced from April 2011.

Despite its small size, Humberside Airport, along with Aberdeen, fills an important niche within the aviation industry. The Lincolnshire hub is a popular destination for helicopters arriving from North Sea oil-and-gas platforms. Humberside is also a base for a number of hobby groups and aircraft clubs, due to the airport’s low landing fees.

In 2006, Humberside lost 100,000 annual passengers in an instant, when Ryanair pulled the plug on its daily route to Dublin from the airport. The blue-and-yellow carrier blamed poor ticket sales for the decision. Years later, bosses at the Kirmington hub are hailing the return of the prodigal airline as a “foundation” to develop Humberside into a major regional airport.

However, Ryanair is not the first airline to offer a route to Alicante from Humberside. XL Airways UK operated a service to the Spanish resort until 2008, when the stricken airline went bust. Alicante had been one of Humberside’s most popular routes due to its proximity to the tourist town of Benidorm on the Mediterranean coast.

Travel agents in the nearby towns of Scunthorpe and Grimsby harbour no ill feelings towards Ryanair, according to local newspaper This is Grimsby, despite the airline’s sudden departure from Humberside in 2006. The carrier’s new route to Alicante has been described as “useful” and “fantastic” by people in the travel industry.

Flights from Humberside to the Spanish city will operate throughout the summer season, departing every Tuesday and Saturday at 1130. Ryanair will operate Boeing 737-800 aircraft on the route.