Ryanair, Ireland’s No.1 airline, today (Fri, 5 Dec) called on Transport Minister O’Brien to support Ireland’s regional airports by expanding the scope of the Regional Airports Programme (RAP) to 3m passengers p.a. At present, RAP only provides funding for regional airports with fewer than 1m passengers p.a. This means that regional airports who grow traffic beyond 1m passengers p.a. (e.g., Shannon Airport) lose their eligibility for this much-needed exchequer funding, penalising them for delivering traffic, tourism, jobs and economic growth for regional Ireland.
Ryanair is calling on Minister O’Brien to increase this funding cap for Ireland’s regional airports to 3m passengers p.a. (in line with EU State Aid rules), so regional airports can continue to access exchequer support as they grow.
Ryanair has already grown traffic at Ireland’s regional airports +65% since pre-Covid, but continued growth is being unfairly limited by the Govt’s RAP. If Minister O’Brien expands the RAP funding cap to 3m passengers p.a. for 2026-30 (as well as lifting the Dublin Airport traffic cap), Ryanair will respond with +50% traffic growth to 30m passengers by 2030. This growth would see Ryanair double traffic at Shannon, and Kerry, and open a new 2 aircraft base at Knock, driving important tourism and delivering economic benefit to the regions.
Ryanair’s Jade Kirwan said:
“While we welcome yesterday’s €4m Regional Airports Programme funding across Knock, Kerry and Donegal, it is astounding that other regional airports, such as Shannon have lost their eligibility for funding under the Govt’s Regional Airports Programme simply because they have grown annual traffic beyond 1m passengers. Surely, we should be promoting tourism, jobs and economic growth for regional Ireland, not penalising airports for delivering it.
Ryanair wishes to grow traffic and tourism across Ireland, but this artificial cap is restricting much-needed economic development. As Shannon has seen this week, exceeding 1m passengers means losing the exchequer support needed for future expansion. We call on Minister O’Brien raise the funding cap for Ireland’s regional airports from 1m to 3m passengers p.a., ensuring Ireland’s regional airports remain eligible for funding under the Regional Airports Programme, allowing them to grow traffic without being penalised for doing so.”
Ryanair, the UK’s No.1 passenger airline, today (Fri, 5 Dec) announced that the first flight of its new Winter 2025 route from Newcastle to Wrocław will take off this weekend. Ryanair will operate 2 flights per week on this exciting new Winter 2025 route, providing customers in the North East with even more choice at Europe’s lowest fares.
Ryanair’s full Winter 2025 schedule is available to book now at ryanair.com.
Ryanair’s Comms Director, Jade Kirwan, said:
“We’re pleased to see the first flight of our new Winter 2025 route from Newcastle to Wrocław take off this weekend (Sat, 6 Dec), carrying lots of cheerful holidaymakers heading away for a well-warranted winter break. This exciting new Winter route will operate twice per week, adding to Ryanair’s already robust UK Winter 2025 schedule, offering even more choice at the lowest fares.
Ryanair’s full UK Winter 2025 schedule is available to book now at ryanair.com.”
Newcastle Airport’s Chief Operating Officer, Richard Knight, said:
“We are excited to see Ryanair’s new Winter route to Wrocław take off for the first time this weekend. The service, along with additional Winter flights to Budapest, Brussels, Gdansk and Malta, provides our passengers with even more choice to enjoy some of Europe’s most popular festive city break destinations and winter sun getaways. Ryanair’s continued investment in Newcastle Airport further strengthens our growing route network and reflects the strong demand for connectivity from the North East to key European destinations.”
Ryanair, the UK’s No.1 passenger airline, today (Fri, 5 Dec) announced that the first flight of its new Winter 2025 route from London Luton to Wrocław took off today. Ryanair will operate 4 flights per week on this exciting new Winter 2025 route, providing its UK customers with even more choice and regular connections at the lowest fares in Europe.
Ryanair’s full Winter 2025 schedule is available to book now at ryanair.com.
Ryanair’s Comms Director, Jade Kirwan, said:
“We’re pleased to see the first flight of our new Winter 2025 route from London Luton to Wrocław take off today (Fri, 5 Dec), carrying lots of cheerful holidaymakers heading away for a well-warranted winter break. This exciting new Winter route will operate 4 times per week, adding to Ryanair’s already robust UK Winter 2025 schedule, offering even more choice at the lowest fares.
Ryanair’s full UK Winter 2025 schedule is available to book now at ryanair.com.”
Ryanair, the UK’s No.1 passenger airline, today (Fri, 5 Dec) announced that the first flight of its new Winter 2025 route from Birmingham to Salzburg will take off this weekend. Ryanair will operate 1 flight per week on this exciting new Winter 2025 route, providing customers in the West Midlands with even more choice at Europe’s lowest fares.
Ryanair’s full Winter 2025 schedule is available to book now at ryanair.com.
Ryanair’s Comms Director, Jade Kirwan, said:
“We’re pleased to see the first flight of our new Winter 2025 route from Birmingham to Salzburg take off this weekend (Sat, 6 Dec), carrying lots of cheerful holidaymakers heading away for a well-warranted winter break. This exciting new Winter route will operate once per week, adding to Ryanair’s already robust UK Winter 2025 schedule, offering even more choice at the lowest fares.
Ryanair’s full UK Winter 2025 schedule is available to book now at ryanair.com.”
US$600M INVESTMENT, 15% GROWTH, 3 NEW ROUTES
Ryanair, the UK’s No.1 low fares airline, today (Thurs, 4 Dec) announced a sixth based aircraft at Liverpool John Lennon Airport for Summer 2026, representing a US$600m investment from Ryanair in the Northwest. This additional aircraft will deliver +250,000 additional seats (+15% growth), 3 exciting new routes to Marrakesh, Tirana, and Warsaw, and extra flights on 11 popular existing routes to Alicante, Barcelona, Faro, Ibiza, Kaunas, Kraków, Malaga, Malta, Porto, Reus, and Sofia. Ryanair’s record Summer 2026 schedule offers customers in Liverpool and the Northwest even more choice at Europe’s lowest fares whilst also supporting over 2,000 local jobs.
Ryanair’s Liverpool Summer 2026 schedule will deliver:
- 34 routes, incl. 3 new routes to Marrakesh, Tirana, & Warsaw
- 6 based aircraft (+1 vs. S25 – US$600m investment in Liverpool)
- Increased freq. on 11 routes
- 2m seats incl. +250,000 (+15%) additional seats
- Liverpool traffic grows to over 2.4m passengers p.a.
To celebrate Ryanair’s sixth aircraft and 3 new routes at Liverpool in Summer 2026, the airline has launched a limited time seat sale with fares from £29.99 available only at Ryanair.com.
Ryanair’s CCO, Jason McGuinness said:
“We are delighted to be in Liverpool today to celebrate more Ryanair investment and record growth for the Northwest, with the announcement of a sixth Ryanair aircraft at Liverpool for Summer 2026 as well as 3 new routes to Marrakesh, Tirana, and Warsaw. Ryanair will also add extra flights on existing popular sun and city break routes, like Alicante, Barcelona, Faro, Ibiza & Kraków, driving 2026 traffic above 2.4m passengers p.a.
Ryanair’s supercharged investment and growth at Liverpool (US$600m) will deliver more than 2m low-fare seats to 34 European destinations, offering customers in the Northwest more choice at the lowest fares in Europe, while simultaneously driving inbound tourism. While Ryanair is growing at Liverpool next Summer, other regional airports across the UK are being hamstrung by Rachel Reeves idiotic decision to increase APD. If the UK Govt is serious about delivering growth, they should abolish this penal and damaging APD tax, which makes the UK (particularly regional airports) uncompetitive compared to EU countries like Sweden, Hungary, Slovakia, and regional Italy, which are abolishing aviation taxes and lowering access costs to stimulate traffic, tourism, and jobs growth.
To celebrate Ryanair’s new aircraft and 3 new routes at Liverpool this Summer, we’ve launched a limited time seat sale with fares from £29.99 available only at Ryanair.com.”
Liverpool John Lennon Airport’s CEO, John Irving said:
“As our longest serving airline partner of nearly 40 years with around 40 million of their passengers having chosen to travel via Liverpool in that time, firstly I’d like to thank Ryanair for their continued support and for this latest commitment. This news highlights Liverpool John Lennon Airport’s strategic importance for the City Region and wider Northwest and North Wales and will bring more jobs, more investment and more choice for the region’s travellers as well as for those from overseas visiting the region via the airport too.
As 2025 draws to a close, on what has been one of Liverpool Airport’s busiest years ever, Ryanair’s decision to base a 6th aircraft at Liverpool in 2026 with an additional 250,000 seats on sale, is likely to help the airport go on to break all previous passenger records.”
Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, today (Thurs, 4 Dec) announced that it has carried 22 million passengers through Shannon Airport since it began operations to/from the airport in 1987.
Last month, Ryanair announced a record Shannon schedule for Summer 2026, delivering 1.4m seats across 30 routes, offering customers in the Midwest even more choice at Europe’s lowest fares. To support this record Shannon schedule, Ryanair will base a fourth aircraft at Shannon for Summer 2026, representing a US$400m investment from Ryanair in Midwest Ireland. This additional aircraft will deliver +180,000 additional seats (+15% growth), 4 exciting new routes to Rome, Madrid, Warsaw, and Poznań, and extra flights on 5 existing popular routes to Alicante, Lanzarote, Manchester, Malta, and Reus.
Ryanair’s full Summer 2026 schedule is available to book now at Ryanair.com, with flights to/from Shannon Airport available from as little as €29.99.
Ryanair’s Director of Comms, Jade Kirwan, said:
“We are delighted to mark 22 million Ryanair passengers through Shannon Airport since Ryanair began operations to/from Shannon in 1987. This significant milestone showcases Ryanair’s continued support and investment in the region, delivering important connectivity, traffic, tourism, jobs, and economic growth.
Next Summer, Ryanair will operate a record schedule to/from Shannon Airport, with 30 exciting routes, including 4 new routes to Rome, Madrid, Warsaw, and Poznań, in addition to extra flights to popular sun and city destinations like Alicante, Lanzarote, Manchester, Malta, and Reus. Ryanair will also base a fourth aircraft in Shannon for Summer 2026, representing a US$400m investment from Ryanair in Midwest Ireland.
This major Ryanair investment and growth at Shannon is thanks to the hard work of The Shannon Airport Group, who recognise the need for efficient, cost-competitive facilities to attract growth and drive inbound tourism to the region, supporting year-round international connectivity. However, the Irish Govt. needs to support regional airports by expanding the scope of the Regional Airports Programme 2026-30 to at least 3m passenger p.a., which would allow regional airports to grow traffic even more without being penalised for doing so.
Ryanair’s full Summer 2026 schedule is available to book now at Ryanair.com, with flights to/from Shannon Airport available from as little as €29.99.
The Shannon Airport Group Interim CEO, Ray O’Driscoll, said:
“We’re delighted to celebrate this remarkable milestone of 22 million Ryanair passengers through Shannon Airport since 1987. Ryanair has been a pivotal part of our success, connecting the Mid-West to key European destinations and supporting tourism, business, and overall regional growth.
We’re excited for what will be a record-breaking Summer 2026 with 30 Ryanair routes – the largest number ever operated by them from Shannon – including new destinations, Rome, Warsaw, Poznan and Madrid, as well as their fourth based aircraft.
Investment such as this highlights Ryanair’s confidence in Shannon’s growth, and we look forward to welcoming even greater numbers of passengers as we continue to work together to deliver more choice and excellent value for our customers into the future.”
Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, today (Thurs, 4 Dec) announced that it has carried 7 million passengers through Kerry Airport since it began operations to/from the airport in 1989.
This winter, Ryanair is operating 58 weekly flights across 5 routes to/from Kerry Airport, including top city break destinations like Frankfurt, Manchester, and London.
Ryanair’s full Winter 2025 schedule is available to book now at Ryanair.com, with flights to/from Kerry Airport available from as little as €29.99.
Ryanair’s Director of Comms, Jade Kirwan, said:
“We are pleased to mark 7 million Ryanair passengers through Kerry Airport since Ryanair began operations to/from Kerry in 1989. This significant milestone showcases Ryanair’s continued support and investment in the region, delivering important connectivity, traffic, tourism, jobs, and economic growth.
This winter, Ryanair is operating a robust schedule to/from Kerry Airport with 58 weekly flights across 5 routes, including top city break destinations like Frankfurt, Manchester, and London.
Ryanair wishes to continue to prioritise growth at Ireland’s regional airports – like Kerry Airport – however, the Irish Govt. needs to support regional airports by expanding the scope of the Regional Airports Programme 2026-30 to at least 3m passenger p.a., which would allow regional airports to grow traffic without being penalised for doing so.”