Ryanair, the UK’s No. 1 passenger airline, this week (Wed, 1 Apr) launched its Summer 2026 schedule for London, operating 194 routes including 5 new routes from Luton to Wroclaw, and from Stansted to Forli, Glasgow, Malmö and Parma. Ryanair has also added extra frequencies on 50+ other routes including Alicante, Barcelona, Faro, Lisbon, Madrid, Malaga and Malta. To support this modest traffic growth, Ryanair will base 1 new aircraft at London Stansted for S26 – bringing Ryanair’s total London-based fleet to 57 aircraft (a $6bn investment) and creating 30 new, highly paid, jobs for pilots, cabin crew and engineers.

Ryanair continues to modestly grow its traffic in London, and across the UK. With expected traffic of 61m passengers in 2026, Ryanair is the UK’s biggest passenger airline, carrying almost double BA’s traffic to/from the UK. However, from today (1 Apr), Rachel Reeves’ harmful decision to increase the UK’s damaging APD tax will make the UK, especially its regional airports, even less competitive versus EU markets such as Sweden, Hungary, Slovakia and regional Italy, where Govts are abolishing aviation/enviro taxes and lowering access costs to drive traffic, tourism and jobs growth.

Ryanair has submitted plans to the Starmer Govt to grow UK traffic by 33% to 80m passengers over the next 5 years, but this growth will only be delivered if the Govt reverses this APD hike and abolishes this damaging tax, which is now the highest aviation tax in Europe. As usual, with Rachel Reeves we have received no response to our growth offer.

Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, said:

“Ryanair continues to invest in modest growth in the UK and we are now the UK’s No. 1 passenger airline, with 61m passengers in 2026. Today we open 5 new London routes for Summer 2026, with frequency increases and 1 extra aircraft in Stansted, a further $100m investment in London. Rachel Reeves talks a lot about growth but hasn’t a clue how to deliver it.

While Ryanair is growing modestly in London, many UK regional airports are being hammered by Rachel Reeves’ stupid decision to increase APD from today. This APD hike makes UK air travel even less competitive versus countries like Sweden, Hungary, Slovakia and regional Italy, where Govts are abolishing enviro taxes and being rewarded with rapid traffic, tourism and jobs growth.

If Rachel Reeves is serious about growth, she should stop talking, and start delivering it by scrapping APD. Ryanair has proposals on the table to grow UK traffic by 33% to 80m passengers over the next 5 years, but this growth won’t happen while the UK maintains Europe’s highest and most harmful aviation tax rates. Instead of hammering yet more taxes onto UK citizens and regional airports, she should follow the example of Sweden, Hungary, Slovakia and regional Italy, and scrap these harmful enviro taxes to win back traffic, tourism and jobs that the UK is now losing to lower cost competitors in Europe.

We again call on the UK Govt to urgently reform the UK’s broken NATS ATC service. It continues to stagger from failure to failure under Martin Rolfe’s mismanagement. Heidi Alexander’s claims that ‘she can’t dismiss him’ are false. The UK Govt owns 49% of NATS and has the power to change its CEO. Nothing will improve in NATS while it is run by failed, overpaid bureaucrats like Martin Rolfe. Sack him and appoint someone competent to run UK ATC – that is how to deliver a better, on-time ATC service for all passengers travelling to/from the UK this Summer.”