THE SOUTH of France, Brittany and Limoges will soon be just a £58 return ticket away after low cost airline Flybe announced five new destinations from Southam-pton International Airport.

Flights to Leeds and Liverpool are also to be launched in addition to the three French destinations. It is the latest expansion by the airport's biggest carrier and Europe's third largest low-cost airline, which has increased Southampton traffic to one million passengers in 14 months.

Flybe claims the five new routes, which brings its total number of destinations served from Southampton to 25, will see 1.5 million passengers take off from the city by summer 2005. Services to Limoges start on March 27. The route to Rennes, the capital of Brittany, opens on May 12 and on June 9, flights begin to Bordeaux. As well as new international routes, Southampton will also be operating domestic services from March 27 to both Liverpool and Leeds.

The expansion follows hard on the heels of Flybe's recent half year results announcement of a record £14m profit, on top of 24 per cent growth in passenger traffic.

Flybe's owners, largely the Jack Walker Trust founded by the former steel magnate and Blackburn Rovers FC chairman and run by his family, are looking to sell up and are courting city investors.

Flybe sales and marketing director Mike Rutter said: 'The new summer schedule is a measured programme to further expand our already comprehensive route network, building on both our domestic and international successes."

Mary Finch, of Bitterne Park Residents' Association, lives under the airport's flightpath in Halstead Road. She is also a member of Southampton Airport Consultative Committee. She said: "Obviously more aircraft is not good news but we will have to see what planes they are going to use."

l Isle of Man airline EuroManx has also revealed it plans to launch a new service from Southampton to the island. The service will see daily departures to and from the Isle of Man from early next year.

Carol Glover, chief executive of the Isle of Man department of tourism, said: "The news comes at a time when we are repositioning the Isle of Man as an island of adventures."