The budget airline will base two aircraft on the island, creating 60 jobs and offering 10 routes.
The airline’s chief executive Eddie Wilson said Ryanair would operate more than 160 Portuguese routes next summer, “over twice as many as TAP”.
Ryanair has also put its UK summer schedule on sale, opening 24 new routes including those to Madeira.
Newcastle receives biggest expansion, with nine new routes, including Croatia’s Zadar, Chania (Crete) and Ibiza.
Zadar will also be served from Birmingham, Bournemouth and Liverpool.
