WHO NEEDS SAM MAGUIRE WHEN YOU HAVE RYANAIR??

Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, today (Tues, 24 Mar) flew a celebration Boeing 737 into Ireland West Airport Knock Airport to mark 40 years of commercial flights since the airport first opened in 1986. Over that period of the last 40 years, Ryanair – which is Knock’s biggest airline customer – has carried over 12m passengers to/from Knock.

Ireland West Airport Knock Airport continues to be the leading low-fare gateway to/from the West of Ireland, and is one of the fastest growing airports in Europe since the Covid pandemic. In 2026, Knock Airport will welcome over 1m passengers for the first time in its history, up 40% from its pre-Covid 700,000 traffic volumes.

Ryanair continues to invest in and grow at Ireland West Airport Knock Airport. In Summer 2026, Ryanair expects to carry 1m passengers to/from Knock, and will account for some 95% of Knock Airport’s total traffic, which in 2026 will exceed 1m passengers for the first time ever.

This Summer, Ryanair will operate 17 routes to/from Knock with 8 routes to/from the UK and 9 routes to/from Europe.

Arriving in Knock Airport today (wearing Mayo colours), Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, said:

“Having Ryanair in Knock Airport is far better than any Sam Maguire. Mayo may have been cursed on the football fields for the last 50 years, but thanks to Knock Airport and Ryanair, it continues to be the champion for low-fare air access and tourism growth in the West of Ireland. With over 1m passengers in 2026, and 17 routes to the UK & Europe, Ryanair and Knock Airport continue to work closely together to deliver low fare traffic and tourism growth for the West of Ireland.”

Welcoming Michael O’Leary to the airport Managing Director of Ireland West Airport, Joe Gilmore, said:

“We would like to welcome Michael to the airport to mark the 40th anniversary and to recognise the long term business relationship the airport has had with Ryanair since their first service departed the airport in December 1986, this relationship continues to be strong today with the airline serving 17 destinations from the airport, and last year celebrated the wonderful milestone of carrying their 12 millionth passenger through the airport. This summer Ryanair will operate their biggest ever schedule from the airport and we look forward to continuing this strong partnership and to growing our network of routes and services with Ryanair in the future.”