Budget airline easyJet has expanded its network of routes out of Stansted Airport to 25, with the launch of services to holiday destination Monastir in Tunisia.

The inaugural flight, using an Airbus A319 aircraft, took off from Stansted this morning fully loaded with 156 passengers and easyJet expects annual traffic on the route – which will operate twice a week throughout the summer – to total around 10,000.

Tunisia is a new destination for easyJet, which last year carried more than 65million passengers in total, including 2.7m from Stansted.

Neil Slaven, easyJet’s UK commercial manager, said the launch of the new service was based on extensive customer research, with Tunisia offering an attractive mix of sandy beaches and historical sites, combined with excellent hotels and pools.

Tunisia remained a safe and popular destination, despite the political unrest elsewhere in north Africa, and the demand for seats on the first flight suggested the route would prove a successful addition to the easyJet network.

”Monastir is a great summer holiday destination and this new service now gives passengers from across the region the added convenience of being able to fly direct from their local airport,” he said.

“We expect this new route to be especially popular amongst those who wishing to try somewhere different this summer.”

Mark Souter, Stansted Airport’s head of business development, said: “New routes are always exciting developments and the launch of easyJet’s first direct service to Monastir provides even greater choice for passengers.

“We’re delighted easyJet chose Stansted as the UK airport from which to enter this new country market and wish them every success with this new route from Stansted.”

Mr Slaven added that easyJet was “massively positive” about Stansted’s place in the company’s network and it planned to add to capacity on a number of routes from the airport popular with business travellers, including Glasgow, Belfast and Amsterdam, with the possibility of more new leisure routes to follow.