EasyJet is launching a base at Madrid Barajas, its 17th, and said operations will start Feb. 16 with several new routes, details of which will be announced next month and will include domestic services. "Spain has been a key market for easyJet for the past 10 years and the new base will take our commitment to a completely new level. While Madrid is one of Europe's largest and most important capital cities, it is still underserved by low-fares airlines," CEO Andy Harrison said.

EasyJet began operating from MAD in 1998 and currently serves nine international routes from the airport. It offers a total of 72 routes to 11 Spanish destinations. In 2005 it carried 7.5 million passengers to and from Spain, including 900,000 to and from Madrid, twice as many as in 2004. Spain is its second-largest market behind the UK.