AZORES LOSES 6 ROUTES & 400,000 PASSENGERS P.A.

Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, today (Thurs 20 Nov) announced that it will cancel all flights to/from the Azores from 29 March 2026 onwards due to high airport fees (set by the French airport monopoly ANA) and Portuguese Govt. inaction that has increased ATC charges by +120% post covid and introduced a €2 travel tax, at a time when other EU States are abolishing travel taxes to secure scare capacity growth.

Sadly, the ANA monopoly has no plan to grow low-fare connectivity to the Azores. The ANA monopoly faces no competition in Portugal – which has allowed it to extract monopoly profits, by raising Portuguese airport fees without penalty – at a time when competing EU airports are lowering fees to stimulate growth. The Portuguese Govt. must intervene and ensure that its airports which are a critical part of national infrastructure – especially in an island economy like the Azores – are used to benefit the Portuguese people, rather than benefitting a French airport monopoly.

The competitiveness of remote European regions – such as the Azores – is being damaged by the EU’s anti-competitive enviro taxes. EU ETS is levied on intra-European flights only, while more polluting long-haul flights to the US and Middle East are excluded. Rather than making European aviation more competitive (by reducing ETS), the EU has expanded ETS to cover remote regions like the Azores – while exempting non-EU competitors like Turkey and Morocco. Ryanair again calls on Ursula von der Leyen to ensure there is a level playing field on EU environmental taxes, by immediately bringing ETS rates into line with CORSIA.

Ryanair’s CCO Jason McGuinness said:

“We are disappointed that the French airport monopoly ANA continues to raise Portuguese airport fees to line its pockets, at the expense of Portuguese tourism and jobs – particularly on the Portuguese islands. As a direct result of these rising costs, we have been left with no alternative other than to cancel all Azores flights from 29 March 2026 onwards and relocate this capacity to lower cost airports elsewhere in the extensive Ryanair Group network across Europe.

This loss of low fare connectivity to the Azores is direct result of the French monopoly airport operator – VINCI – imposing excessive airport charges across Portugal (which have risen by up to 35% since Covid) and the anti-competitive enviro taxes imposed by the EU, which exempt more polluting long haul flights to the US and Middle East, at the expense of EU remote regions such as the Azores. After 10 years of year-round Ryanair operations, one of Europe’s most remote regions will now lose direct low-fare flights to London, Brussels, Lisbon, and Porto due to ANA’s high airport fees and Portuguese Govt. inaction.

Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, today (Thurs, 20 Nov) called on Ireland’s Taoiseach, Micheál “do nothing” Martin to fast-track legislation to scrap Dublin Airport’s unlawful 32m traffic cap, before the end of 2025, as he promised in his January “Programme for Govt”. With a 20 seat majority, voters should not have to wait 12 months for Micheál Martin to keep his Programme promise to scrap this cap. Dublin Airport confirmed they have exceeded this cap with 2 months of the year to go. This shows the urgent need for the Govt to scrap this illegal traffic cap at Ireland’s gateway airport and provide the long-term certainty that all airlines need to invest and grow Irish traffic, tourism, and jobs in time for Summer 2026.

Dublin traffic has only grown this year because the High Court suspended this illegal traffic cap in a case taken by Irish airlines, while the Irish Govt dithered and did nothing. This is not a permanent solution. The future of Ireland’s air access and tourism industry cannot be left to linger while Micheál Martin wanders around COP or wastes even more time at Templemore graduation ceremonies or launching his Govt’s 2^nd housing strategy in just 4 years.

Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary said:

“Ryanair calls on Micheál “do nothing” Martin to stop wasting time wandering around COP or Templemore, and instead pass urgent legislation to scrap Dublin Airport’s unlawful 32m traffic cap, before the end of 2025. With a 20 seat majority, voters should not have to wait 12 months for Ireland’s “do nothing” Taoiseach to use his 20 seat majority to scrap this cap, and allow Irish traffic, tourism, and jobs to grow in time for Summer 2026. Ireland needs action and leadership, not more dither and delay from Micheál “do nothing” Martin 11 months after his new, 20 seat majority Govt promised to scrap this cap. It’s time to act and stop these indefensible delays.”

Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 low fares airline, today (Tues, 11 Nov) released its November OTA Overcharge Survey, showing some OTAs like eDreams, Tix, Fru, and Vola are still overcharging up to 3 times Ryanair’s prices. This month’s survey marks two years of exposing these OTAs who overcharge consumers, yet EU Govts and Consumer Authorities have failed to take any action to address these OTA overcharges.

Ryanair again calls on EU Govts (notably Spain’s useless Consumer Minister Bustinduy) and National Consumer Authorities to take urgent action to protect consumers from these overcharging OTAs and insist on mandatory price transparency from all OTAs, in line with the transparent pricing being delivered by all Ryanair’s “Approved OTA” partners, to protect consumers.

Ryanair’s Dara Brady said:

“Ryanair’s November OTA survey shows that eDreams, Tix, Fru, and Vola continue to overcharge unsuspecting consumers up to 3 times the prices on Ryanair’s website. It’s unacceptable that after two full years of publishing these monthly OTA overcharging surveys, EU Govts and National Consumer Authorities have done nothing to protect consumers from overcharging OTAs.

Ryanair again calls on EU Govt and Consumer Protection Authorities to take urgent action to protect consumers across Europe by bringing price transparency standards in line with the transparency standards applied by Ryanair’s OTA partners.”

4 AIRCRAFT, US$400M INVESTMENT, 15% GROWTH AND 4 NEW ROUTES

Ryanair, Europe and Ireland’s No.1 airline, today (Tues, 11 Nov) announced it 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 record Shannon Summer 2026 schedule will deliver 1.4m seats across 30 routes, offering customers in the Midwest even more choice at Europe’s lowest fares.

Ryanair’s Shannon Summer 2026 schedule will deliver:

• A record 30 routes incl. 4 new routes to Rome, Madrid, Warsaw & Poznań
• 4 based aircraft (+1 vs. S25 – US$400m investment in Shannon)
• Increased freq. on 5 routes – Alicante, Lanzarote, Manchester, Malta & Reus
• 1.4m seats incl. 180,000 (+15%) additional seats
• Shannon traffic grows to over 2m seats p.a.

To celebrate Ryanair’s fourth aircraft and 4 new routes at Shannon next Summer, the airline has launched a 2-day seat sale with fares from just €29.99 available only at Ryanair.com.

Ryanair’s CCO, Jason McGuinness, said:

“We are delighted to celebrate the news that Ryanair will base a fourth aircraft in Shannon for Summer 2026 alongside the announcement of 4 new routes to Rome, Madrid, Warsaw, and Poznań, in addition to extra flights to popular sun and city destinations Alicante, Lanzarote, Manchester, Malta, and Reus. Next Summer Ryanair’s US$400m investment in the Midwest will deliver more than 1.4m low-fare seats from Shannon to a record 30 European destinations.

Ryanair’s 4 based aircraft and US$400m investment in Shannon is a clear commitment to growing Ireland’s regional connectivity. This Summer Shannon will benefit from +180,000 (+15%) additional seats and 4 new routes 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.

To celebrate Ryanair’s biggest ever schedule and 4 new routes at Shannon next Summer, we’ve launched a 2-day seat sale with fares from just €29.99 available only at Ryanair.com.”

Welcoming the announcement, Ray O’Driscoll, Interim CEO of The Shannon Airport Group said:

 “We’re delighted to welcome Ryanair’s continued commitment to Shannon Airport with the addition of a fourth based aircraft, four new Summer ‘26 services to Rome, Warsaw, Poznań, and Madrid, as well as increased frequencies on five key routes. This expansion is a strong vote of confidence in Shannon’s growth trajectory. It reflects our ongoing investment in infrastructure and passenger experience, as well as our strong commitment to working with airline partners to expand our route network and deliver greater choice for customers across the country.

These new services enhance Shannon’s connectivity to key European cities, supporting tourism, trade, and regional development, and will be warmly welcomed by both holiday makers and business travellers alike.”

Ryanair today (Tues, 4 Nov) released its Oct 2025 traffic stats as follows:

Ryanair Holdings plc today (3 Nov.) reported Q2 PAT of €1.72bn, up 20% on PY Q2 PAT of €1.43bn.   H1 PAT rose 42% to €2.54bn, as traffic grew 3% to 119m passengers while fares rose 13% due to a strong Easter, weak prior-year comps and Q2 fare recovery.

H1 highlights include:
• Traffic grew 3% to a record 119m.
• Rev. per pax up 9% (ave. fare +13% & ancil. rev. +3%).
• Strong cost control as unit costs rise just 1%.
• 199 B737 “Gamechangers” in 636 fleet at 30 Sept.
• 2 new bases & 91 new routes (over 2,500) on sale for S.26.
• Jet fuel hedges extended: 80% of FY27 at just under $67bbl.
• Ryanair added to MSCI Global & FTSE Russell indices.
• €0.193 interim div. per share declared (payable in Feb. 2026).

H1 REVIEW

Ryanair Group CEO Michael O’Leary, said:

Revenue & Costs:

“H1 revenues rose 13% to €9.82bn.  Scheduled revenue increased 16% to €6.91bn as traffic grew 3% but fares rose 13%.  Fares benefitted from having the full Easter holiday in Q1 (with weak prior-year comps) and we achieved a full recovery of the 7% fare decline we suffered in last years Q2.  Ancillary revenue was solid, rising 6% to €2.91bn.  Operating costs rose 4% (+1% per pax) to €6.96bn as our fuel hedges helped offset higher ATC fees (up 14%) and enviro. costs (ETS allowance unwind and SAF blend mandates from last Jan.).

H2 FY26 fuel is c.85% hedged at $76bbl (de-risking the Group for the remainder of this year) and we’ve taken advantage of recent price dips to extend our FY27 hedge cover to 80% at just under $67bbl, locking in price savings of over 10% in our fuel costs next year. 

Balance Sheet, Liquidity & Returns:

Ryanair’s balance sheet is strong with a BBB+ credit rating (both Fitch and S&P) and unencumbered B737 fleet (610 aircraft).  At 30 Sept., gross cash was €3bn after €1.2bn debt repayments (incl. our €850m bond in Sept.), €1.1bn capex and €0.4bn shareholder distributions.  Liquidity is further boosted by the Group’s RCF which has c.€1bn undrawn.  Net cash rose to over €1.5bn from €1.3bn at 31 Mar., leaving the Group well positioned to fund capex and repay our last remaining bond (€1.2bn) in May 2026 from internal cash resources.  This financial strength widens the cost gap between Ryanair and our competitors, many of whom remain exposed to expensive (long-term) finance and rising aircraft lease costs.

In May, we launched a €750m share buyback.  At 30 Sept. we had purchased (and cancelled) over 7m shares (approx. 25% of programme) at a cost of €188m.  Today, the Board (in line with Ryanair’s dividend policy) declared an interim dividend of €0.193 per share (payable in late Feb. 2026).

FLEET & GROWTH

Boeing’s improved deliveries continued through S.25 and into Oct., enabling our Group to carry extra passengers in H1 and selectively add capacity over the peak Oct. mid-term school holidays and into the Christmas/New-Year peak travel period.  Ryanair had 204 B737-8200 “Gamechangers” in its 641 fleet at the end of Oct. and we’re confident that the last 6 remaining Gamechangers (210 orderbook) will deliver well ahead of S.26, facilitating 4% traffic growth to 215m next year (FY27).  Boeing expects MAX-10 certification in mid 2026 and they expect to meet our contract delivery dates for our first 15 MAX-10s in Spring 2027, with 300 of these fuel-efficient aircraft due to deliver by Mar. 2034.  As part of our preparations for the MAX-10s, we need to accelerate cadet and first officer (“FO”) recruitment for the next 3 years.  While this investment in training and growth (approx. €25m p.a.) will increase FO crewing ratios for up to 3 years, it will provide a strong pool of home-grown FOs ready for promotion to Captains when MAX-10 deliveries ramp-up in FY29/FY30.  We’ve also taken advantage of recent US$ weakness and hedged approx. 35% of our MAX-10 firm order (150 aircraft) capex at an average €/$ rate of 1.24, locking-in further capex savings on these low-cost aircraft. 

This winter, we’ve allocated Ryanair’s scarce capacity to those regions and airports cutting aviation taxes and incentivising traffic growth such as Sweden, Slovakia, Italy, Albania and Morocco by switching flights and routes away from high cost, uncompetitive markets like Germany, Austria and regional Spain.  This trend will continue into S.26, with over 2,500 routes now on sale (incl. new bases in Tirana and Trapani and 91 additional routes).

We expect European short-haul capacity to remain constrained to at least 2030 as the big 2 OEMs remain behind on aircraft production, Pratt & Whitney engine repairs continue to be an issue for many Airbus operators, EU airline consolidation accelerates (incl. Air Europa, SAS & TAP) and unprofitable airlines withdraw capacity from markets where they are unable to compete with Ryanair’s lower costs.  Industry capacity constraints, combined with our widening cost advantage, strong balance sheet, low-cost aircraft orderbook and industry leading ops resilience will, we believe, facilitate Ryanair’s controlled profitable growth to 300m passengers p.a. by FY34. 

ESG

During H1 we took delivery of 23 new Gamechangers (4% more seats, 16% less fuel & CO₂) and benefitted from the retrofit of winglets to approx. 60% of our B737NG fleet (1.5% lower fuel burn and 6% less noise).  Our 409 NGs will be retrofitted by the end of 2026 and we expect to have all 210 Gamechangers in our fleet well ahead of S.26.  We recently agreed to purchase 30 CFM LEAP-1B spare engines (a $500m commitment) to improve our operational resilience.  Over 50% of these engines were delivered at 30 Sept., with the balance expected in coming months.  These latest technology engines reduce fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions per seat by up to 20%.  The Groups significant investment in new technology, coupled with ambitious SAF commitments, positions Ryanair as one of Europe’s most environmentally efficient airlines.

As expected, following the lifting of the prohibition on non-EU nationals purchasing Ryanair’s ord. shares in Mar. (while continuing to apply voting restrictions) and Ryanair’s inclusion in the MSCI Global and FTSE Russell indices, we’ve seen increased global investor interest.  At 30 Sept. the proportion of Ryanair’s issued share capital held by EU nationals was 33% (significantly above the 20% threshold for potential re-introduction of purchase restrictions), while 100% of voting rights remained in the hands of EU investors.

EUROPE IS FAILING ON COMPETITIVENESS

We remain concerned that Ursula von der Leyen (and her new Commission) have done nothing, over the past 14 months, to improve European competitiveness by implementing the Sept. 2024 Draghi Report recommendations.  Europe’s airlines have called for a level playing field on enviro. taxes, by bringing ETS rates into line with CORSIA, and urgent ATC reform by protecting overflights during national strikes, and ensuring that Europe’s major ATC providers in France, Germany, and Spain are fully staffed for the first wave of daily departures.  These reforms are urgent and it’s about time President von der Leyen stopped talking about reform and started to deliver it.

While the Commission stands idly by, the EU Parliament is proposing even more stupid rules (such as further increasing free carry-on luggage limits – even though there is no room in the aircraft cabin for these extra bags) which will only lead to more airport security and flight delays as well as higher costs, and higher fares for Europe’s consumers.

OUTLOOK

FY26 traffic is now expected to grow by more than 3% to 207m passengers (previously 206m), due to earlier than expected Boeing deliveries and strong H1 demand.  Unit costs performed well in H1 and, as previously guided, we expect only modest FY26 unit cost inflation as our B-8200 deliveries, fuel hedging and effective cost control across the Group helps offset increased ATC charges, higher enviro. costs and the roll-off of last years modest delivery delay compensation.  While Q3 forward bookings are slightly ahead of PY, particularly across the Oct. mid-term and Christmas peaks, we would caution that we face more challenging PY fare comps in H2 making fare growth more challenging.  Q3s fare outcome will be determined by close-in Christmas and New Year bookings.  As is normal at this time of year, we have zero Q4 visibility and there is no Easter benefit in this year’s Q4. 

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

CALLS ON GOVT TO SCRAP AVIATION TAX TO GROW TRAFFIC & TOURISM

Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, today (Tue, 28 Oct) announced it will cut 2 more aircraft from its Vienna base for S26 (loss of $200m investment) due to the Govt’s continued failure to scrap its harmful aviation tax and lower Vienna Airport’s excessive fees. Despite Ryanair presenting an ambitious €1bn growth plan to the Chancellor in September, which would grow Austria’s traffic to 12m passengers p.a. (+70%) and see Ryanair base another 10 new “Next-Gen” Boeing 8-200 aircraft by 2030, the Govt has failed to respond, and as a result, high cost/high tax Austria continues to lose aircraft, traffic, tourism, and jobs to lower cost neighbours Italy & Slovakia.

Austria’s air travel market is collapsing because of this harmful aviation tax – which is one of the highest in Europe at €12 per passenger – making Austria completely uncompetitive compared to lower cost EU countries, like Sweden, Hungary, Slovakia, and regional Italy, where Govt’s are abolishing aviation taxes and cutting airport fees to grow traffic and tourism.

Ryanair has already been forced to cut 3 aircraft and close 3 routes from Vienna for W25. Wizz, Level and easyJet have also closed their Vienna bases, and Lufthansa announced a cut of 10 aircraft from its AUA fleet.

The Austrian Govt. must now wake up if it wishes to save Austria’s failing traffic, tourism, and jobs by immediately scrapping the Austria’s failed aviation tax, and lowering Vienna Airport’s excessive fees.

Ryanair’s Group CEO, Michael O’Leary said:

“We are disappointed with the Austrian Govt’s failure to honour their promise to respond to our $1bn growth plan, which would see Ryanair grow its Austrian traffic by 70% to 12m passengers p.a., base another 10 aircraft at Vienna, add 40 new routes and create 300 high paid jobs for pilots, cabin crew, and engineers. This would see Ryanair fill the gap left by Lufthansa, Wizz, and other high-fare airlines who have cut routes to/from Austria in recent months. All Chancellor Stocker had to do was to scrap Austria’s harmful aviation tax (which only raises €160m p.a.), which is already one of the highest in Europe at €12 per passenger.

As a result of Chancellor Stocker’s failure to reply to our growth proposal, Ryanair has been forced to cut another 2 aircraft from our Vienna base for S26, on top of the 3 aircraft already removed for W25. This capacity will instead be reallocated to other low-cost EU markets, like Italy, Hungary, and Slovakia, where Govt’s are abolishing aviation taxes to stimulate traffic and tourism growth.

The message is clear; Austria’s air travel market is collapsing due to its harmful aviation tax (which only raises €160m p.a.). Chancellor Stocker must act now to scrap this harmful tax and promote low-fare air traffic and tourism growth or suffer more cuts and higher air fares for Austrian passengers/visitors.”