50 new jobs are to be created as Stobart Air, formerly Aer Arann, teams up with Flybe for flights to mainland Europe.

Under the new partnership Stobart Air will operate six new European routes with the hope of carrying 100,000 new passengers by the end of this year, rising to 200,000 next year.

The new positions will be based at London Southend Airport and the flight schedules will begin on June 5th.

The Flybe deal is Stobart Air’s second franchise flying partnership. In 2012, the airline signed a 10-year franchise agreement with Aer Lingus, operating Irish and UK services under the Aer Lingus Regional brand.

Sean Brogan, Interim Chief Executive Officer, Stobart Air said, "We have moved to the next level as an airline. Our aim is to become a specialist in franchise flying and broaden our reach into new markets. Deals with Aer Lingus and now Flybe represent real progress in a short period of time. Airlines and passengers are responding to our product. We have set a target of two million passengers by 2016 and believe this is achievable."

Details of the six routes, including prices and frequencies, will be announced on 3 April when tickets go-live on flybe.com.