The carrier will launch flights to Washington Dulles on August 22, with five flights a week and one-way fares from £199. Primera will also increase its Toronto services from Stansted from three to five a week following demand.

“We’ve been planning to add Washington from the beginning of the transatlantic flight project,” said Andri Már Ingólfsson, president and owner of Primera Air.

“We see a strong demand for this route and we are the first low-cost airline to start operations between both cities, offering people an affordable way of transatlantic travel.”

Primera will also offer New York Newark and Boston from Stansted. The carrier this week axed its planned Birmingham-Boston service due to poor inbound demand, but is pressing ahead with its other route launches from the Midlands. Primera’s OTA has also gone live offering short-haul pacakges on a variety of airlines.

Stansted airport chief executive Ken O’Toole said: “We’ve already seen a very positive response from passengers to Primera’s previous announcement of new services to New York, Boston and Toronto and the addition of Washington will provide even more choice and connectivity to the east coast of the USA.”

He added: “We have made clear our ambition is to provide more services to the USA and add routes to China and India, so this is another step towards that goal.”