Ryanair, the UK’s No.1 low fares airline, today (Tues, 19^th Aug) announced a third Boeing 737 8-200 “Gamechanger” based aircraft at Newcastle for Winter 25/26. This aircraft will deliver 120,000 (+36%) additional seats at Newcastle this Winter where Ryanair now expects to carry more than 1m annual passengers. Ryanair has also launched 5 exciting new Winter routes to Brussels, Budapest, Gdańsk, Malta, and Wrocław, as well as adding extra flights to existing favourites Alicante, Dublin, and Kraków, providing customers in the North-East with even more choice at Europe’s lowest fares.

Ryanair’s record NewcastleWinter 25/26 schedule will deliver:

• 1 new based Boeing 737 8-200 “Gamechanger” aircraft (3 total)
• US$300m investment in Newcastle
• 120,000 additional seats (+36%)
• 17 routes, incl. 5 new to Brussels, Budapest, Gdańsk, Malta, & Wrocław
• Increased freq. on 3 existing routes – Alicante, Dublin, & Kraków
• Support over 850 local jobs, incl. 30 new highly paid pilot & cabin crew
• Newcastle traffic grows to over 1m passengers p.a.

To celebrate Ryanair’s third aircraft and 5 new routes at Newcastle this Winter, the airline has launched a 2-day seat sale with fares from £29.99 available only at Ryanair.com.

From Newcastle, Ryanair’s CCO, Jason McGuinness said:

“We are delighted to announce this additional US$100m (US$300m total) investment in Newcastle today. This third Boeing 737 8-200 “Gamechanger” based aircraft arriving in Winter will provide a huge economic boost to the North-East – delivering 120,000 (+36%) additional seats and 5 new routes to Brussels, Budapest, Gdańsk, Malta, and Wrocław, as well as supporting over 850 local jobs including 30 local pilot and cabin crew jobs we’re now hiring for.

This Winter Ryanair will operate a record schedule at Newcastle that will deliver more than 1m annual passengers thanks to the hard work of Newcastle Airport to remain competitive despite Labour’s reckless decision to increase the regressive APD tax. As an island economy on the periphery of Europe, it is vital that UK airports particularly in the regions offer competitive access costs to airlines. The excessive UK APD tax imposes £13 on all UK citizens/visitors, making air travel from the UK uncompetitive, particularly when other European countries, like Sweden, Hungary, and Italy, are lowering costs and cutting taxes to encourage rapid traffic and tourism growth. Conversely the UK Govt. has decided to further increase this tax by +£2 (+15%) from April ’26 costing UK regions jobs, tourism and economic growth. Ryanair calls on Rachel Reeves to scrap this penal tax and allow UK connectivity, employment and tourism to flourish.  If the UK Govt. abolishes APD Ryanair will respond with its ambitious growth plan for the UK to increase annual traffic by 27m (+50% to 80m pax p.a), base +30 additional aircraft (US$3bn investment), launch 200 routes (800 total) and create 20,000 jobs.

To celebrate Ryanair’s new aircraft and 5 new routes at Newcastle this Winter, we’ve launched a 2-day seat sale with fares from £29.99 available only at Ryanair.com.”

Newcastle Airport’s Chief Operating Officer, Richard Knight, said:

“It’s fantastic news that Ryanair have committed to further investment in the region with the addition of a third based aircraft at Newcastle Airport, bringing with it five exciting new Winter routes to Brussels, Budapest, Malta, Wrocław and Gdańsk for our passengers to enjoy. 

This expansion will deliver over 1 million passengers for Ryanair over the next 12 months, reflecting the strength of our partnership and the growing demand for connectivity from the North East to key European destinations. 

Brussels is a brand new connection for the Airport’s departure board and will provide great connectivity for both leisure and business passengers to the capital of Belgium. The addition of more winter flights to Budapest, Gdańsk, Malta and Wrocław will provide additional flight options for passengers looking to explore these popular destinations from the region.”