2 AIRCRAFT ($200M INVEST.), 23 ROUTES AND MORE THAN 1M PASSENGERS P.A. FOLLOWING SICILIAN REGION’S SCRAPPING THE MUNICIPAL TAX

Ryanair, Europe and Italy’s No.1 airline, today (24 Sep) announced it is opening a new base at Trapani-Marsala from Jan ’26. This follows the Sicilian Region’s decision to scrap the Municipal Tax at smaller Sicilian airports. Trapani-Marsala will become Ryanair’s third Sicilian base (20^th in Italy) further enhancing connectivity and the availability of low fares for Sicilian residents across the Island. This $200m new aircraft investment in Trapani-Marsala will create over 800 local jobs, 23 exciting routes, (incl. 11 new to major European destinations), and +260k (+25%) additional seats enhancing year-round connectivity, tourism, and jobs growth – all at Europe’s lowest fares.

The direct and immediate impact that reduced access costs have on airports is demonstrated by the record traffic growth Ryanair is already delivering to Abruzzo, Calabria, and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. At larger Sicilian airports (Catania & Palermo), where the Municipal Tax still applies, there remains significant potential to further increase connectivity, particularly on key routes such as Rome and Milan. Scrapping the Municipal Tax also at these airports will unlock additional capacity, attract new routes, and ensure year-round connectivity, bringing wider economic benefits to the Island.

Ryanair welcomes the efforts of President Schifani and the Sicilian Govt in enhancing regional connectivity and congratulates them on the important decision to scrap the Municipal Tax at smaller Sicilian airports. Now is the right time to take a further step and abolish the Municipal Tax at all Sicilian airports to boost year-round connectivity and deliver lower fares for Sicilian citizens and visitors. This would activate Ryanair’s Sicilian growth plan, delivering 3 million additional passengers p.a., up to 5 additional based aircraft, and creating thousands of new local jobs.

Ryanair’s new Trapani-Marsala base will deliver:

• 2 new B737 a/c – $200M invest. (1 in W25 and 2 in S26)
• 23 tot. routes, incl. 11 new to Baden-Baden, Bari, Bratislava, Bournemouth, Brussels, Katowice, London, Pescara, Saarbrücken, Stockholm & Verona.
• Traffic grows to more than 1M pax p.a.
• +10% increase in capacity to Rome & Milan
• Supp. over 800 local jobs
• Increased year-round connectivity, more tourism, more jobs and lower fares.

To celebrate its new Trapani-Marsala base, Ryanair has launched a 3-day seat sale with fares from €21.99 on sale only at ryanair.com.

In Trapani, Ryanair’s CEO Eddie Wilson said:

“As Europe and Italy’s No.1 airline, Ryanair is delighted to announce this major investment at Trapani-Marsala with the opening of a new base from Jan ‘26. We’ve worked closely with both the Regional Govt. and Airgest team to deliver this exciting investment. Since first flying to Sicily in 2003 Ryanair has carried 100 million passengers to/from Sicily, our new Trapani-Marsala base will deliver 2 new aircraft, 23 routes (11 new), more than 1 million passengers annually, and support over 800 local jobs. By connecting Trapani directly with nine countries incl. Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the UK, and with major Italian cities such as Pescara, Pisa, Turin, plus +10% incr. capacity to Milan & Rome, this new base will significantly enhance international accessibility and deliver true year-round connectivity, driving inbound tourism and ensuring Trapani and the wider region benefit from a consistent flow of visitors and sustained economic growth throughout the year.

Ryanair welcomes President Schifani and Sicilian Govt’s decision to scrap the Municipal Tax at the smaller Sicilian airports, and now is the right time to take the next step. Extending this measure to all Sicilian airports would unlock further connectivity, deliver lower fares, and strengthen year-round connectivity for Sicilian citizens and visitors. This will allow Ryanair to deliver transformative traffic, tourism, and jobs growth for Sicily, delivering 3 million additional passengers per year, 5 new aircraft, expanded routes to mainland Italy and international destinations, and thousands of new local jobs.

We also urge the Italian Government to scrap the Municipal Tax at all Italian airports to stimulate capacity, reduce fares, and drive economic growth. Should the Government act, Ryanair is ready to invest $4bn in Italy, adding 40 new aircraft, 20 million additional passengers, and over 250 new routes.”

Councillor for Infrastructure and Mobility of Sicily Region, Alessandro Arico’, said:

“A historic day for air transport in Sicily, as it marks a new and more exciting chapter in relations with one of the major international players in air travel, Ryanair. Thanks to the elimination of the municipal surtax, strongly advocated by the Schifani Government, air traffic to Sicilian airports will be incentivized by up to 5 million passengers. This will boost the economic and tourism development of the region, and above all benefit travelers, who will enjoy lower fares and new destinations made possible by the new agreement with the airline. The deal includes the establishment of a new Ryanair base in Trapani, 23 new routes, and a projected increase in passenger traffic of over 1 million by 2026. All of this is part of a broader strategy to relaunch Sicily’s airports, which also includes territorial continuity measures for Comiso (starting November 1), Lampedusa, and Pantelleria. Along with Trapani, Palermo, and Catania, these airports together form Italy’s third-largest regional airport system”.

Airgest’s President, Salvatore Ombra, said:

“The return of Ryanair’s base to Trapani Airport is not just a milestone — it is the milestone. It comes after a 10-year absence of the Irish airline from the airport, an absence that was deeply felt and had repercussions throughout the region. During the revival project of Vincenzo Florio Airport, which began six years ago, we faced all kinds of challenges — even the Covid pandemic got in the way. But what never wavered was our determination, our drive to act, and the support of an enlightened regional government that chose to stand by the people of Trapani and their airport. We were right to champion the removal of the municipal tax, and just a few months later, we are seeing the results. Ryanair has kept its commitment to base two aircraft in Birgi, which has led to an increase in routes. We would like to thank the President of the Sicilian Region, Renato Schifani, as well as the Regional Ministers for Transport, Alessandro Aricò, and for Economy, Alessandro Dagnino, who made this possible. And this is just the beginning — many more projects are in the pipeline for the modernization of the airport terminal”.

 

             

RYANAIR CALLS ON EU COMM & PRESIDENT URSULA VON DERLAYED AGAIN TO EXPLAIN WHY SHE HAS ALLOWED ANOTHER SUMMER OF RECORD ATC DELAYS

Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, today (Wed, 3 Sept) called on EU Comm President, Ursula von “Derlayed-Again”, and certain EU Govts to explain why they have allowed another Summer of record ATC failures, which delayed or cancelled the travel plans of over 21m Ryanair passengers so far this year.

This call comes as Ryanair released its August “ATC Delays League”, which again shows that France, Spain, Germany, UK, and Greece are the worst ATCs for delays / cancellations because their Govts refuse to ensure their ATC services are properly staffed and managed.

There is no excuse for these failing ATCs to cause so many flight delays and passenger disruptions, when many other EU ATCs like, Bulgaria, Denmark, Slovakia, Netherlands, Belgium are delivering an efficient ATC service (without mismanagement or staff shortages).

Ryanair has long called for the EU to reform its failing ATC services to ensure they are fully staffed but the EU Commission keeps ignoring the continuing ATC mismanagement and staff shortages. Ryanair invites all passengers to visit the ‘Air Traffic Control Ruined Your Flight’ webpage and demand that the EU Comm President & National Transport Ministers take urgent action to fully staff their national ATC services, which would eliminate 90% of ATC delays. 

Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary said:

“Yet another month of ATC mismanagement has passed in August with zero action to fix these failing ATC services by those responsible – the EU Commission and National Transport Ministers. Europe’s worst performing ATCs in France, Spain, Germany, the UK, and Greece continue to inflict avoidable delays and cancellations on thousands of flights and millions of Ryanair passengers due to  their inexplicable mismanagement and short staffing.

This failing ATC mismanagement in France, Spain & Germany is exposed by other efficient ATCs in Bulgaria, Denmark, Slovakia, Netherlands, and Belgium who continue to deliver Europe’s most efficient ATC services. This proves that well-managed, properly staffed ATC is not just possible but is already being delivered by many EU States. So why can’t France, Spain, Germany, the UK, and Greece do the same? The answer is: they can, but as complacent, protected State monopolies, they have no incentive to care about delays or passengers. If they did, they would ensure their ATC services are fully staffed and efficiently managed.

It is inexcusable that passengers and airlines continue to pay hefty fees for failing ATC services. Ryanair calls on the EU Commission and EU Transport Ministers of France, Spain, Germany, the UK, and Greece to take immediate action. Ryanair also calls on passengers to join Ryanair’s campaign and have their say by visiting the ‘Air Traffic Control Ruined Your Flight’ webpage and demand real reform of these failing ATC providers in France, Germany, Spain, the UK and Greece.”

ALMOST €600 IN SAVINGS IN 6 MONTHS

Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, today (Thurs, 28 Aug) released its exclusive “Prime Member” offer for September, giving members €40 off return flights operating between 30 October to 18 December. This exclusive 48hr sale is available only to Ryanair Prime members, so sign up before this 2-day sale goes live on Mon, 1 September, to save on fares and other Prime Member benefits, like free reserved seats and free travel insurance.

This September Prime Member sale is the sixth monthly seat sale since Ryanair launched its €79 subscriber discount scheme in March, with Prime members accumulating almost €600 in savings to date for a 12-month membership cost of just €79. Ryanair’s six-monthly seat sales alone saved Prime members €260, over three times €79 cost of Prime membership.

Ryanair CMO, Dara Brady said:

“We’re delighted to announce our September Prime Member Seat Sale, going live on Monday, 1 September for just 48 hours. Prime members can enjoy €40 off return flightsfor travel between Thursday, 30 October and Thursday, 18 December, the perfect time for a winter getaway.

With Prime, members unlock unbeatable value all year round, from savings on flights and seats to great deals on extras – all for just €79 a year. Sign up to Prime today and start enjoying the same incredible savings and benefits as thousands of our existing Prime members.”

PLATFORM ENSURES PASSENGERS HAVE FULL TRANSPARENCY ON FARES WHEN BOOKING RYANAIR FLIGHTS THROUGH TRAVEL AGENCIES

Ryanair, Europe’s No. 1 airline, has today (Mon, 28 July) announced the launch of “Travel Agent Direct” (TAD) a new direct, authorised distribution platform, designed to allow offline travel agents to book Ryanair flights directly, ensuring full transparency for passengers.

This new booking platform is the latest development in Ryanair’s distribution commitment to only partner with trusted and authorised travel agencies, to book Ryanair flights for their customers, with full price transparency and assurance that customers will receive essential flight updates directly with no need to complete Ryanair’s customer verification. This is in stark contrast to unauthorised online and offline travel agencies who refuse to partner with Ryanair, and who continue to scrape data and mislead customers with hidden mark-ups.  

Ryanair’s Travel Agent Direct will simplify the process for traditional travel agencies by enabling them to access Ryanair’s industry leading network of 3,600+ daily flights to over 230 destinations across Europe.

Ryanair’s CMO Dara Brady said:

“We are delighted to launch our Travel Agent Direct platform which means authorised travel agencies, will have access to Ryanair’s low-fare flights to over 230 destinations for their customers, provided they ensure full price transparency for all Ryanair flights and products. The launch of TAD is a further demonstration of our ongoing commitment to fair and transparent distribution practices as passengers will now only see true Ryanair prices and will be guaranteed that their contact details will be provided to Ryanair, so that we can contact them directly for essential information about their flight. As Ryanair grows to 300 million passengers p.a. by 2034, we look forward to expanding our partnerships with trusted travel agencies across Europe.”

Ryanair Holdings plc today (21 July) reported Q1 profit after tax of €820m, compared to prior-year Q1 PAT of €360m, as traffic grew 4% to 58m passengers at 21% higher fares.

Q1 highlights include:

• Traffic grew 4% to 57.9m.
• Rev. per pax rose 15% (ave. fare up 21% to €51 & ancil. rev. up 3%).
• Unit cost inflation just 1% – cost gap advantage widens.
• Competitive fuel hedges de-risk Group:  c.85% FY26 at $76bbl.
• 181 B737 “Gamechangers” in 618 fleet (incl. 5 deliveries in Q1).
• Over 160 new S.25 routes (total: 2,600 routes).
• 30 spare CFM LEAP engines bought to improve resilience.
• Ryanair added to the MSCI World Index.

Q1 REVIEW

Ryanair Group CEO Michael O’Leary, said:

Revenue & Costs:

“Total revenue rose 20% to €4.34bn.  Scheduled revenue increased 26% to €2.94bn as traffic grew 4% with 21% higher fares.  Q1 fares substantially benefitted from having a full Easter holiday in April, weak prior-year comps and marginally stronger than expected close-in pricing.  Ancillary revenues delivered another solid performance rising 7% to €1.39bn.  Operating costs rose 5% (+1% per pax) to €3.42bn as our jet fuel hedging largely offset ATC fees (up 16%) and higher enviro. costs (as ETS allowances unwind and SAF blend mandates impact costs from Jan. 2025).

Ryanair’s competitive fuel hedging provides a key advantage in current volatile oil markets, with FY26 almost 85% hedged at $76bbl and FY27 36% hedged at just under $66bbl. 

Balance Sheet, Liquidity & Returns:

Ryanair’s balance sheet is one of the strongest in the industry with a BBB+ credit rating (both Fitch and S&P) and unencumbered B737 fleet (over 590 aircraft).  At 30 June, gross cash was €4.4bn after €0.6bn capex and almost €0.4bn debt repayments.  Net cash was €2.0bn (up from €1.3bn at 31 Mar.), leaving the Group well positioned to repay approx. €2.1bn maturing bonds over the next 10-months (incl. an €850m bond in Sept.) from internal cash resources.  This financial flexibility further widens the cost gap between Ryanair and competitors who are exposed to expensive (long-term) finance and rising aircraft lease costs.

We welcome Ryanair’s full addition to the MSCI World Index and expect to join the FTSE Russell Index, following their semi-annual index review, in Sept. (albeit this inclusion will be phased over approx. 2-years).  In May, we launched our latest share buyback and have purchased (and cancelled) c.1.6m shares under the programme, at a cost of €39m, at 30 June.

FLEET & GROWTH

Ryanair has 181 B737-8200 “Gamechangers” (up 25 from June 2024) in its 618 aircraft fleet, facilitating 3% FY26 traffic growth (to 206m passengers).  We remain confident that the 29 remaining Gamechangers in our 210 orderbook will deliver well ahead of S.26, when we hope to recover this years delayed traffic growth into FY27.  Boeing continues to expect MAX-10 certification in late 2025 and we’re planning for the timely delivery of our first 15 MAX-10 deliveries in Spring 2027, with 300 of these very fuel efficient aircraft due to deliver by Mar. 2034. 

This summer we will operate over 2,600 routes (incl. 160 new routes) and we’re seeing strong S.25 travel demand across our network.  Our Group airlines capacity constrained growth is being allocated to those regions and airports who are cutting aviation taxes and incentivising traffic growth, and we expect this trend to continue.

We believe European short-haul capacity will remain constrained for the next 5 years to 2030 as the big 2 OEMs remain well behind on aircraft deliveries, many of Europe’s Airbus operators work through Pratt & Whitney engine repairs and EU airline consolidation continues (SAS, TAP, Air Europa & others).  These industry capacity constraints, combined with our widening unit cost (and fuel hedge) advantage, strong balance sheet, low-cost aircraft orders and industry leading ops resilience will, we believe, facilitate Ryanair’s controlled profitable growth to 300m passengers p.a. by FY34. 

ESG

During Q1 we took delivery of 5 new B737 Gamechangers (4% more seats, 16% less fuel & CO₂) and saw the benefit (1.5% lower fuel burn and 6% less noise) from the retrofit of winglets to our B737NG fleet (target of 409 by 2026).  Our recent deal to buy 30 CFM LEAP-IB engines is a significant $500m commitment to improve our operational resilience.  These latest technology engines reduce fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions per seat by up to 20%.  The Groups ambitious SAF commitments and our ongoing investment in new technology positions Ryanair as one of Europe’s most environmentally efficient airlines. It is notable that, despite being Europe’s largest passenger airline, we are only No.4 in the recent Cirium list of EU airline CO₂ emissions.

OUTLOOK

FY26 traffic remains on track to grow just 3% to 206m passengers, due to heavily delayed Boeing deliveries.  As previously guided, we expect modest unit cost inflation in FY26 as the delivery of more B737 Gamechangers, advantageous fuel hedging and effective cost control across our Group airlines helps offset increased ATC charges and higher enviro. costs.  While S.25 travel demand is strong, Q2 fare increases will be lower than in Q1 (which benefitted from a full Easter holiday in April and weak prior-year comps) and we now expect to recover almost all of the 7% fare decline we suffered in PY Q2.  The final H1 outcome is, however, heavily dependent on the strength of close-in Aug. and Sept. bookings.  As is normal at this time of year, we have zero H2 visibility (where PY fare comps normalise and last years modest delivery delay compensation rolls off). 

It remains too early to provide meaningful FY26 PAT guidance.  We do, however, cautiously expect to recover almost all of last years 7% full-year fare decline, which should lead to reasonable net profit growth in FY26.  The final FY26 outcome remains heavily exposed to adverse external developments, incl. the risk of tariff wars, macro-economic shocks, conflict escalation in the Middle East and Ukraine and European ATC strikes, mismanagement & short staffing.”    

Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, today (Wed, 16 July) called on Ursula von “Derlayed-Again” to take urgent action to reform Europe’s failed ATC service as French ATC engage in yet another “recreational” French ATC strike today (Wed, 16 July), unfairly disrupting the travel plans of 30,000 Ryanair passengers – almost all of which are not flying to/from France but passing through French airspace en route to their destination.

Almost 20% of EU flights overfly France, yet French minimum services do not protect overflights during French ATC strikes (as other EU States like Greece, Italy and Spain do). Earlier this month (3&4 July), French ATC strikes forced the cancellation of 1,500 flights which cancelled the travel plans of over 270,000 EU citizens and their families. 90% of these cancellations would have been avoided if overflights over France were protected during French ATC strikes. It is unacceptable that less than 2 weeks later, a further 30,000 passengers’ travel plans have been disrupted due to yet another “recreational” French ATC strike.

Ursula von “Derlayed-Again” has a duty to protect the single market for air travel and to keep the upper airspace over France open so that passengers who are not travelling to/from France can continue to fly during these repeated French ATC strikes. Ursula von “Derlayed-Again” must now take action to reform Europe’s failed ATC services or quit and let someone competent to do the job.

$500M INVESTMENT WILL IMPROVE RESILIENCE

Ryanair today (10 June) announced it has reached agreement with CFM to buy 30 new spare LEAP-1B engines which have a list price of $500m. These fuel-efficient engines, which deliver over the next 2 years, will support Ryanair’s fleet of 210x B737 Gamechanger aircraft and also the B737 MAX-10 aircraft which deliver in 2027. These 30 new engines greatly increase Ryanair’s pool of spare engines to over 120, which will enhance Ryanair’s operational resilience. Ryanair plans to increase its fleet to 800x B737s (all powered by CFM engines) to grow its traffic to 300m guests p.a. by 2034

Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary said:

“We are pleased to continue to develop our longstanding partnership with CFM (Safran & GE Aerospace). Today’s purchase of 30 new LEAP-1B spare engines is a significant $500m commitment to improve the operational resilience of our Group airlines. These latest technology CFM engines reduce fuel consumption and CO₂  emissions per seat by up to 20% when installed on our B737 MAX fleet, which will further widen Ryanair’s cost leadership over competitor airlines in Europe.”

CFM’s President & CEO, Gael Meheust, said:

“This new agreement is another milestone in the long and successful partnership we have built with Ryanair. We look forward to continuing to support Ryanair’s significant growth by providing them with industry-leading reliability and utilization standards”.