Ryanair today said Frankfurt-Hahn would be its second continental European base.
The move was confirmed at the German airport by the carrier's chief executive, Mr Michael O'Leary. He claimed the development marked the end of what he called the "high fares monopoly" of the German national airline Lufthansa.
From February, Ryanair will allocate up to four aircraft to its new base in Germany operating more than 30 flights every day on international routes to locations in Britain, Italy, France, Norway and Ireland.
Mr O'Leary said the company's new base would mean the creation of 200 new jobs in Frankfurt and lead to 1.5 million new passengers being carried through the airport by Ryanair in the first 12 months of its operation there.
To coincide with the announcement Ryanair also unveiled a range of prices said to be at least 80 per cent cheaper than Lufthansa fare levels.
Mr O'Leary, involved in a long-running campaign to force cheaper facilities for budget airlines operating out of Dublin airport, also claimed that the move to Frankfurt-Hahn meant the new jobs and tourists had again been lost to Ireland because of the monopoly arrangement applied in Dublin.
"This is the fourth year in a row that Aer Rianta's high costs and abject facilities have forced Ryanair to grow outside Ireland - first in Stansted, then Glasgow, last year Brussels and this year in Frankfurt-Hahn".
"At a time when Irish tourism is facing collapse last year the failure of the Aer Rianta monopoly to provide efficient facilities and lower prices is a national disgrace," Mr O'Leary said.
Earlier this week the Government-appointed committee urged that better facilities should be provided in Dublin for low-fare airlines but stopped short of recommending that Ryanair should have their own terminal there.
PA