The leader of Oxfordshire County Council welcomed new flights from Oxford Airport as a boost to business and tourism.

The Oxford Mail revealed on Saturday the Kidlington-based airport is starting the first fully-fledged commercial flights in its 80-year history.

Councillor Ian Hudspeth said: β€œIt stands to reason that linking Oxfordshire with two major capital cities by air is going to be good for our local economy, both in terms of attracting business trips as well as leisure travel.”

Greek operator Minoan Air has set up its UK base at Kidlington and will launch flights to Edinburgh on March 4 and Dublin on March 6.