Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline, today (Wed 16^th June) criticized Boris Johnson’s mismanagement of the Covid pandemic, and the reopening of the UK economy following the UK’s successful vaccine rollout programme – especially when these vaccines are effective against the Delta variant.

In the last month, the UK Government promised a Travel Green List (with Portugal on it), however, within 2 weeks Portugal was removed without any material change in Covid case numbers in Portugal, and Malta which has higher vaccine rates and lower case numbers than the UK, still hasn’t been moved to the Green List. The UK Government’s Green List is a Red List shambles. The UK travel policy is a confusing “go-stop-go-stop” system, which is doing untold damage to the UK’s inbound tourism industry.

This week’s further restrictions, which delays the final lifting of lockdown for a further month to 19^th July, is again not supported by the epidemiological position in the UK. Case numbers are rising but from a much lower base, the Indian variant is not resistant to vaccines, and all of the UK’s vulnerable groups (the elderly, NHS/nursing home employees/residents and people with health conditions) have all now been vaccinated. This greatly reduces the risk of serious illness, hospitalisation, and morbidity due to Covid, yet the UK Government continue to implement travel restrictions as if the vaccine programme had not taken place.

Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary said:

“The UK’s Covid travel policy is a shambles. The Green List is non-existent because countries such as Malta and Portugal, with lower Covid case numbers than the UK and rapidly rising vaccination rates, remain on Amber. Meanwhile, UK citizens almost 80% of whom will be vaccinated by the end of June, continue to face Covid restrictions on travel to and from the European Union, despite the fact that the majority of the European Union citizens will also be vaccinated by the end of June.

UK tourism and aviation needs a pragmatic travel policy, which permits vaccinated UK and EU citizens to travel between the UK and the EU without the need for quarantine or negative PCR tests. This will at least allow the UK tourism industry to plan for what is left of the summer season and get hundreds of thousands of people back to work. It is time for Boris Johnson to end his gross mismanagement of Covid and the recovery from Covid, and take advantage of the UK’s successful vaccine programme to allow the restoration of free movement of vaccinated UK citizens and their families to and from the EU, where Covid case rates are lower than the UK and vaccination rates are rising rapidly”.

Ryanair, Ireland’s largest airline, has today (10^th June) welcomed EU Commission confirmation that Ireland has moved to a “ready” state for the implementation of the EU Digital Covid Certificate, allowing Irish citizens who have been vaccinated to travel freely this summer.

This week, the EU Commission confirmed that Ireland had moved from an “in-test” state to “ready” to implement the EU Digital Covid Cert system but Ireland is still lagging behind Germany, Spain, Poland, Croatia and many more countries across the EU who have already started to issue vaccinated citizens with  EU Digital Covid Certs, which facilitate the resumption of intra-EU summer travel. Irish Citizens who have been vaccinated must be given a firm date for when they can access their EU Digital Covid Certs before the go live date of 1^st July.

As a small island on the periphery of Europe, it is crucial that Ireland restores connectivity and opens for travel to/from the EU. The Irish economy heavily relies on tourism and it is also of critical importance that incoming families and tourists from locations such as Spain, Germany and Poland can travel to Ireland this summer, safe in the knowledge that their EU Digital Covid Certs will be accepted upon arrival.

Ryanair calls on Transport Minister Eamon Ryan to announce what date vaccinated Irish citizens can access the EU Digital Covid Cert system which allows them to travel freely to/from the EU this summer.

A Ryanair spokesperson said:

“The successful issue of the new EU Digital Covid Certificates will give a much needed boost to the tourism industry. Eleven EU countries are already issuing EU Digital Covid Certs which will allow their citizens travel freely this summer. Ireland is as usual lagging behind, so it’s urgent that Transport Minister Eamon Ryan confirms a date before 1^st July when vaccinated Irish citizens can access their Digital Covid Cert for travel this summer.”

La aerolínea conectará Fuerteventura y Tenerife con la capital italiana y aumentará las frecuencias entre Barcelona y Roma Fiumicino como parte de su programación de verano 2021

Madrid, 8 de junio de 2021. Ryanair, la primera aerolínea en Europa, ha anunciado dos nuevas rutas que conectarán Fuerteventura y Tenerife con Roma (Fuimicino). A estas nuevas conexiones se suma la ampliación de frecuencias en los vuelos desde Barcelona a Roma, si actualmente se operan 9 vuelos semanales, Ryanair añadirá 5 vuelos más por semana, operando así un total de 14 vuelos semanales. Las dos nuevas rutas junto con la ampliación de frecuencias se pondrán en marcha en agosto, como parte de la programación de verano 2021 de Ryanair en España.

Los clientes de Ryanair ya pueden reservar una escapada de verano, volando con las tarifas más bajas y acogiéndose a la tarifa cero de Ryanair, por cancelación de reserva en caso de que sus planes cambien.

Para celebrar estas nuevas rutas, Ryanair ha lanzado una oferta de asientos con vuelos a partir de 19,99€ para viajar hasta finales de octubre de 2021. Esta promoción estará disponible hasta la medianoche del jueves, 10 de junio, en la página web Ryanair.com.

Susana Brito, Sales & Marketing Manager para España y Portugal de Ryanair, ha declarado: “A medida que las campañas de vacunación avanzan y con la temporada de verano a la vuelta de la esquina, estamos encantados de anunciar esta ampliación de frecuencias y añadir nuevas rutas que conectarán Fuerteventura y Tenerife con Roma (Fuimicino) a partir de agosto, como parte del calendario de verano 2021 de Ryanair en España.

Conscientes de que las restricciones a raíz del Covid-19 varían constantemente, Ryanair permite hasta dos cambios de fecha de vuelo gratuitos. Esto permitirá mayor flexibilidad y tranquilidad a nuestros clientes, quienes pueden reservar sus vuelos para disfrutar de un merecido descanso, con la tranquilidad de poder posponer o cambiar sus fechas de viaje, en caso de que sea necesario, con una tasa de 0 euros hasta finales de octubre de 2021”.  

Ryanair today (9 June) welcomed the EU General Court’s annulment of the European Commission’s approval of State aid by Germany to Condor.  In April 2020, the German government granted a €550m loan to Condor, which had already benefited from a €380m rescue loan from Germany in 2019 following the bankruptcy of its parent company, Thomas Cook.

While the Covid-19 crisis has caused damage to all airlines that contribute to the economy and the connectivity of Germany, the German government decided to support only its inefficient “national” airlines, including Condor.  Ryanair referred the European Commission’s approval of this €550m illegal subsidy to Condor to the EU General Court in 2020.

A Ryanair spokesperson said:

“The German government aid to Condor – both in 2019 and 2020 – went against the fundamental principles of EU law and has distorted the market to the detriment of consumers. Today’s ruling is an important victory for consumers and competition.

During the Covid-19 pandemic over €30bn in discriminatory State subsidies has been gifted to EU flag carriers.  Unless halted by the EU Courts in line with today’s ruling, the effects of market distortion caused by this State aid will be felt for decades.  If Europe is to emerge from this crisis with a functioning single market, the European Commission must stand up to national governments and stop rubberstamping discriminatory State aid to inefficient national airlines.”

 

 

 

NOTE TO EDITORS:

The EU Commission’s spineless approach to State aid since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis has allowed Member States to write open-ended cheques to their inefficient zombie flag carriers in the name of faded national prestige. The EU Commission has hastily approved over €30bn of discriminatory State aid since the crisis began. Discriminatory State subsidies given by EU Member States or planned to be given are set out here:

Air France-KLM                €14.4bn Lufthansa Group               €11bn Alitalia                                €3.5bn SAS                                      €1.3bn TAP                                     €1.6bn Finnair                                €1.2bn Norwegian                          €0.8bn LOT                                     €0.65bn Condor                                €0.6bn Air Europa €0.5bn

 

Three More Aircraft, 21 Routes (6 New) & Over 65 Extra Weekly Flights

Ryanair, Italy’s No.1 airline, today (08 June) announced the addition of three based aircraft, six new routes and over 65 flights every week from Rome Fiumicino to a host of domestic and international destinations. This represents a further investment of $300m, which will deliver increased connectivity to the region, playing a key role in the recovery of jobs and the local economy.

Ryanair remains committed to delivering connectivity to Rome and expects its Summer ’21 schedule, including 78 routes from both Rome airports in total and over 470 departing flights per week, will help boost air traffic in the city and  the region, contributing to the recovery of the tourism industry as vaccination programmes continue and Europe re-opens in time for the peak holiday season.

Ryanair’s Rome Summer ‘21 schedule will deliver (Fiumicino & Ciampino):

• Up to 14 based aircraft, including three additional based aircraft in Fiumicino from August
• 78 routes in total (six domestic / 72 international)*
• 11 new routes
• Over 470 departing flights per week across both airports
• Connections to holiday destinations such as Malta & Rhodes, city breaks to Madrid & Porto, as well as domestic connections to Cagliari & Trapani.

Ryanair’s Rome Fiumicino Extended Summer ‘21 schedule will deliver:

• Up to six based aircraft, including three additional based aircraft from August – a $300m investment
• Up to 180 direct jobs and over 2,200 indirect jobs
• 21 routes in total (four domestic / 17 international) *
• Six new routes, all commencing in August:

 

Route	Departing Flights Per Week	Route	Departing Flights Per Week
Chania	3	Santorini	4
Fuerteventura	3	Tenerife South	3
Liverpool	4	Zakynthos	4

 

• Extra flights on eight routes:

 

Route	Departing Flights Per Week	Route	Departing Flights Per Week
Barcelona	14 (+5)	Catania	49 (+7)
Bari	18 (+4)	Kyiv	7 (+2)
Brindisi	14 (+7)	Palermo	35 (+7)
Brussels	14 (+11)	Vienna	7 (+4)

 

• Connections to holiday destinations such as Malaga & Malta, city breaks to Seville & Vienna, as well as domestic connections to Brindisi & Palermo.

Italian consumers and tourists can now plan a getaway on even lower fares and with the option to avail of Ryanair’s zero change fee should plans change. To celebrate, Ryanair has launched a seat sale with fares available from just €19.99 for travel until the end of October 2021, which must be booked by midnight Thursday 10^th June on the Ryanair.com website. 

Ryanair’s Director of Commercial, Jason McGuinness, said:

“We are delighted to confirm our commitment to Rome and the region, with 78 routes in total from both airports –  Fiumicino and Ciampino –  including 11 new routes to an array of summer hotspots. In particular, we are pleased to announce three additional based aircraft in Rome Fiumicino, along with six new routes & over 65 extra departing flights every week this summer, doubling our presence at the airport. This expansion will deliver increased connectivity to the region and support the recovery of local jobs and businesses.

Our Italian customers have now a host of domestic and international destinations to choose from this summer, with connections to the likes of Barcelona, Catania, Palermo, Malta and many others.

Mindful that Covid restrictions change regularly, customers can now book flights for a well-deserved break knowing that if they need to postpone or change their travel dates, they can do so up to two times with a zero-change fee until the end of December 2021.

To celebrate, we are launching a seat sale with fares available from just €19.99 for travel until the end of October 2021, which must be booked by midnight Thursday 10^th June. Since these amazing low fares will be snapped up quickly, customers should log onto www.ryanair.com and avoid missing out.”

Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, today (03 June) announced three new routes to  Bucharest, Malaga and Zagreb  and even more flights to Dublin as part of Ryanair’s Bulgarian Summer ’21 Schedule.

Bulgarian consumers can now book a summer getaway, flying on the lowest fares and with the option to avail of Ryanair’s zero change fee should plans change.

To celebrate, Ryanair has launched a seat sale with fares available from just €19.99 for travel until the end of October 2021, which must be booked by midnight Saturday 5^th June only on the Ryanair.com website.

Route	Weekly Flights
Sofia-Bucharest	4
Sofia-Malaga	2
Sofia-Zagreb	1
Route	Increased Flights
Sofia-Dublin	3 (+1)

Ryanair’s Olga Pawlonka said:

“As vaccination rollout programmes continue in the coming months and with the summer season just around the corner, we are delighted to announce three new routes from Sofia to Bucharest, Malaga and Zagreb and even more flights to Dublin from July as part of our Bulgarian summer’21 schedule.

 Mindful that Covid restrictions change regularly, customers can now book flights for a well-deserved break knowing that if they need to postpone or change their travel dates, they can do so up to two times with a zero-change fee until the end of December 2021.

 To celebrate, we are launching a seat sale with fares available from just €19.99 for travel until the end of October 2021, which must be booked by midnight Friday 5^th June. Since these amazing low fares will be snapped up quickly, customers should log onto www.ryanair.com to avoid missing out.”

Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline, today (04^th June) condemned the decision by the UK Government of Boris Johnson to move Portugal to the Amber Travel List (from Green), since this decision has no basis in public health or medical science.

This bizarre decision now requires vaccinated UK citizens returning from Portugal to quarantine for 14 days, despite the fact that 75% of UK adults have now received a Covid vaccine. Vaccine rates in Portugal are rapidly catching up with UK levels, with over 40% of Portugal’s adults having now received a Covid vaccine.

The decision to move Portugal from the Green to Amber list has also no basis in medical or public health when Covid infection rates in Portugal are also identical to UK rates (at just 50 cases per 100,000). Covid case rates in Portugal are declining, as they are in the UK, thanks to the successful rollout of the Covid vaccines. Ryanair also condemned Transport Minister Grant Shapps failure to add other destinations to the UK Green List, such as Malta, which has now overtaken the UK with almost 80% of its population receiving a Covid vaccine, and Covid case rates in Malta are just 12 per 100,000 population, less than 25% of the rate in the UK.

Ryanair also called for other Islands, such as the Balearics and the Canaries, to be immediately added to the UK Green List, when their Covid case rates are running at approx. 30 per 100,000, are considerably lower than UK Covid case rates.

Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary said:

“Boris Johnson’s Government is again mismanaging the Covid recovery. This stop-go-stop approach to short haul travel in Europe is inexplicable and unjustified when 75% of the UK population has now received a Covid vaccine. There is no medical or public health reason for moving Portugal from the Green to the Amber List, when its Covid case rates are as low as the UK at just 50 per 100,000 population, and Portugal’s vaccine rollout programme has exceeded 40% and is rapidly catching up with UK levels.

 UK citizens who have already booked travel to Portugal deserve an explanation why vaccinated UK citizens are required to quarantine when returning from a country which has similarly low Covid case rates as the UK. Transport Minister Shapps should also explain why those countries such as Malta, or Islands such as the Balearics and the Canaries, who have significantly lower Covid case rates than the UK, have not been added to the UK Green List to allow UK families a well-earned holiday in June, July and August, particularly when those UK families have already been vaccinated.

 This is sadly further evidence that the Johnson Government just makes it up as they go along, and this stop-go-stop approach to international travel is damaging for the UK and for millions of UK families. Ryanair calls today on Boris Johnson and Grant Shapps to immediately return Portugal to the Green List, and add those other low risk destinations such as Malta, the Balearics and the Canary Islands, so that British families can plan their holidays for Summer 2021 without being repeatedly disrupted and mismanaged by Boris Johnson and his chaotic Government Administration.”