No-frills airline Ryanair is expected to announce today that it is broadening its attack on the European aviation market with the opening of its first operating base in Scandinavia at Stockholm-Skavsta airport.

Skavsta, about 100 km south of Stockholm, will be the airline's fourth operating base in continental Europe and will become part of its rapidly expanding network, aimed at making Ryanair the largest short-haul airline in Europe within five to six years.

The group is expected to announce this week that it will also be developing its presence in the German market, with a service to Airport Niederrhein in north-western Germany.

Niederrhein, which is being developed as a civil airport on the site of a former UK fighter base close to the Dutch border, is scheduled to open in May.

Ryanair is expected to base three or four aircraft at Skavsta with the opening of a network to several European locations.

These are likely to include the existing services to London Stansted and Frankfurt-Hahn as well as Paris-Beauvais, Glasgow-Prestwick and destinations within the Nordic region.

The choice of Skavsta will strengthen the development of TBI, the UK airports group, which includes Luton, Belfast International and Cardiff airports.

The move into Scandinavia follows the launch by Ryanair of its first base in Germany at Hahn, west of Frankfurt, in February of last year and the opening of a base at Brussels-Charleroi in April 2001.

Next month Ryanair is also opening its first base in Italy, Milan-Bergamo.

The airline is seeking to expand from 14.5 million passengers in the 12 months to December to about 40 million by the end of the decade.

The growth is being supported by a steady flow of new aircraft from Boeing following the placement a year ago of firm orders for 100 737-800 aircraft with options on a further 50.