Ryanair, the UK’s No.1 low-fare airline, announced today (Wed, 2 Jul) that it has carried over 8 million passengers through Newcastle Airport since it began operations to/from the airport in 2003. Since then, Ryanair has invested heavily in Newcastle with 2 based aircraft representing a $200m investment and supporting over 800 local jobs, as well as providing citizens/visitors with more choice at the lowest fares via a robust Summer 2025 schedule of 140 weekly flights across 18 routes to/from Newcastle, including top holiday destinations like Alicante, Barcelona, Faro, Ibiza, Malaga, Tenerife, and Zadar.

Ryanair’s Director of Comms, Jade Kirwan, said:

“We’re pleased to announce an exciting Ryanair milestone – we have now carried over 8 million passengers through Newcastle Airport since we began operations back in 2003. This significant milestone showcases Ryanair’s continued support and investment for Newcastle, delivering important connectivity, traffic, tourism, jobs, and economic growth. This summer, Ryanair is operating a robust schedule to/from Newcastle with 140 weekly flights across 18 routes, including top holiday destinations like Alicante, Barcelona, Faro, Ibiza, Malaga, Tenerife, and Zadar. Ryanair’s Newcastle Summer 2025 schedule will largely operate on our 2 Newcastle based aircraft – an investment of $200m and supporting over 800 local jobs.

While Ryanair has grown significantly at Newcastle over the years, we could be growing more rapidly here and across the wider UK, but Rachel Reeves’ bizarre decision to raise APD taxes damages these growth prospects. If the UK Govt. wants to deliver growth, they should abolish APD tax, which makes the UK uncompetitive when EU countries like Sweden, Hungary, and regions in Italy are abolishing aviation taxes and winning dramatic traffic, tourism, and jobs growth from the UK.”