Ryanair called again for NATS CEO Martin Rolfe to resign (or be removed by the UK Govt) as East Midlands Airport is forced to close today (14 Feb) causing hundreds of passengers to suffer unnecessary delays due to further NATS Air Traffic Control (ATC) staff shortages.

Today’s forced closure of East Midlands Airport due to NATS staff shortages follows the NATS system failure in Aug last, which caused cancellations and long delays for hundreds of thousands of UK passengers, as well as repeated NATS staff shortages and a further system collapse at Gatwick on 9^th Dec last, disrupting thousands more UK passengers unnecessarily. These repeated NATS failures are unacceptable and make clear that it is time for overpaid CEO, Martin Rolfe, to quit or be dismissed and let someone competent take over.  

A Ryanair spokesperson said:

“It is inexplicable that despite the major NATS system collapse 6 months ago, which caused cancellations and long delays for hundreds of thousands of UK passengers, and repeated NATS staff shortages, overpaid CEO, Martin Rolfe, has still not taken any action to fix NATS. As a result, more UK passengers are suffering delays today (14 Feb) as East Midlands Airport is forced to close due to further NATS staff shortages.

It is unacceptable that passengers continue to face disruption due to NATS mismanagement. UK passengers need a competent UK ATC service and Martin Rolfe has repeatedly proven that he cannot deliver it. If he cannot do his job, then Martin Rolfe should immediately resign and let someone competent run UK ATC.”

Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, today (14 Feb) welcomes the judgments of the Milan Court of Appeal conclusively rejecting Lastminute and Viaggiare’s claims that Ryanair’s exclusive online distribution model constitutes an abuse of a dominant position.  

The Court confirmed that Ryanair’s exclusive online distribution model was justified “in terms of containing operating costs and eliminating the costs associated with intermediation in ticket sales. This has contributed to the application of competitive fares – which undoubtedly benefit consumers as well – and to the possibility of having a direct channel of communication with them for any possible need for information and updates on flights. No harm to users, therefore, was established…”

Ryanair has long campaigned to protect customers from price gouging by OTAs who continue to dupe unsuspecting consumers by unlawfully scraping Ryanair’s website, including by overcharging for air fares and ancillary services, using fake customer accounts, fake customer payment cards and fake customer emails. This can be hugely detrimental to customers who, apart from being overcharged, cannot access their Ryanair bookings, make the necessary security declarations, access refunds, or receive direct email communications (such as online check-in reminders) from Ryanair. This historical and precedent-setting Court ruling is a major step forward in protecting unsuspecting consumers from being overcharged by OTAs, and will help to ensure that Ryanair customers always get the lowest fares, the best customer service, and real time email communications.

Ryanair has recently concluded pro-consumer deals with the OTAs Love Holidays and Kiwi so that they can market our flights to their customers, without hidden mark-ups and with full transparency for passengers to protect them against overcharging.

Ryanair’s Dara Brady said:

“We welcome these Milan Court rulings which establish that Ryanair’s exclusive online distribution model is pro-consumer.

OTAs have for years relied upon screenscrapers, fake customer accounts, single-use payment cards and fake customer email addresses to make bookings on Ryanair’s website in breach of the Terms of Use. This can cause huge inconvenience and expense to customers as often OTAs not only overcharge for fares, bags and seats, but they also block customers from managing their bookings or receiving important flight updates from Ryanair (such as online check-in reminders).

This historic Court ruling has reinforced Ryanair’s determination to pursue justice for our customers to ensure they get access to the lowest fares, cannot be overcharged by OTAs, and that they have direct access to manage their bookings and to receive up to date flight information.

We encourage our customers to book directly with us through ryanair.com or our mobile app.  Ryanair strongly objects to OTAs mis-selling our flights and overcharging consumers but are willing to deal with any OTA that undertakes not to overcharge and dupe our passengers, as shown by our recent pro-consumer deals with Love Holidays and Kiwi.”

Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, today (12^th Feb) announced a new ground handling partnership with Skytanking Aviation Services, effective from April 2024. This partnership will see the leading aviation services provider support Ryanair’s growing operation with ground handling services across key airports, such as Eindhoven.

As Europe’s No.1 airline, operating over 3,600 daily flights carrying over 183.5m passengers p.a., Ryanair requires efficient and cost-effective ground handling services that support the airline’s industry leading on time performance.

Ryanair’s Deputy Director Ground Operations, Tom Kelly said:

“Ryanair is delighted to announce our new ground handling partnership with Skytanking. This initial 6-year deal will ensure that Ryanair can continue to deliver its industry-leading turnaround times, a vital part in keeping our fares low for our customers. We look forward to working with Skytanking and developing the partnership further in the years to come in the UK, the Netherlands and right across Europe”.

Skytanking Aviation Services General Manager – Ground Handling, Craig Denmark said:

“The entire Skytanking Aviation Services team is excited to grow our service portfolio with Ryanair. As we continue to diversify our services and expand our ground handling footprint, our focus is on delivering exactly what Ryanair and its customers require, and that is a safe, professional, and on-time operation. With this alignment, we are confident that this will be a successful partnership.”

Ryanair, Europe’s no.1 airline, has today (11 Feb) announced an extension to its maintenance agreement with Joramco, the MRO provider based in Jordan and the engineering arm of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) Ltd, which will see the airline undertake 10 lines of heavy maintenance for the next 10 years at their MRO facility in Amman, Jordan. Ryanair’s fleet will grow to over 800 aircraft by the end of the decade and this agreement will ensure that the airline has flexibility around where it places its aircraft for upcoming winter maintenance seasons. The announcement comes this week after Joramco successfully completed its 100^th C check for Ryanair.

Joramco’s 110,000sq metre facility will facilitate heavy maintenance of Ryanair’s aircraft as the airline grows its fleet to 800 aircraft, including the airline’s recent 300 Boeing 737 MAX-10 order, which will see the airline grow to carry over 300m passengers per year by 2034. These fuel-efficient new technology aircraft offer 21% more seats, burn 20% less fuel, and are 50% quieter.

Ryanair uses a mix of internal facilities and external suppliers to conduct its heavy maintenance. Ryanair continues to invest in its internal heavy maintenance facilities and this agreement will complement these facilities to ensure that maintenance requirements are more than met over the coming years.

Ryanair’s Chief Operations Officer, Neal McMahon, said:

“We are delighted to announce this extended agreement for 10 maintenance lines with Joramco for the next 10 years. Joramco have demonstrated excellent standards in their state-of-the-art facilities, and we are pleased to extend our partnership with them for 10 maintenance lines for the next 10 years as we grow our fleet to over 800 aircraft. The enduring strength of this relationship is demonstrated this week as Joramco successfully completes 100 Ryanair aircraftC checks.”

Commenting on this agreement, Joramco’s Chief Executive Officer Fraser Currie, added:

“Following the successful completion of Joramco’s 100^th C check for Ryanair, we are delighted to agree a further 10 years from 2024 for 10 maintenance lines. This agreement reflects our commitment to delivering safe and reliable maintenance services to Ryanair fleet, and this strategic move solidifies the partnership between Ryanair and Joramco and ensures efficient and timely C checks for Ryanair’s growing fleet.”

3 NEW ROUTES – TRAFFIC GROWS 22% TO 4.5M PAX

Ryanair, Malta’s No.1 airline, today (7 Feb) announced its biggest-ever S24 schedule for Malta with 3 new routes to Belfast, Norwich and Rome, 67 total routes, and increased frequencies on 20 other routes to/from Valletta.

Ryanair’s MaltaS24 schedule will deliver:

• 3 new routes (Belfast, Norwich & Rome (F))
• 67 total routes
• 1 new based a/c (7 total) 
• $700m invest
• Traffic grows 22% to 4.5m pax p.a.
• Supporting 4,000 local jobs, incl. over 550 pilot, cabin crew & engineer jobs in Ryanair

Ryanair is committed to further growth and investment in Malta, underpinned by its $700m investment in the island, with 7 based aircraft (including 3 B737 Gamechangers) which supports over 4,000 local jobs, which are so vital to Malta’s island economy, where tourism is the largest industry and employer.

To celebrate its 3 new routes (67 total) for S24, Ryanair has launched a 3-day seat sale with fares from just €24.99 available from today for booking only at ryanair.com.

Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary said:

“As Malta’s no.1 airline, Ryanair is pleased to announce its biggest ever S24 schedule for Malta, with 3 new routes to Belfast, Norwich, and Rome, offering Malta’s citizens/visitors even more choice for weekend city breaks and summer holidays at the lowest fares in Europe. These 3 new routes reflect Ryanair’s dedication to providing Malta with the best travel experience at the lowest cost. Our $700m investment in the island and our 22% traffic growth highlights Ryanair’s commitment to Malta’s tourism growth and connectivity.”

To celebrate the launch of our record Summer’24 schedule for Malta, Ryanair is launching a 3-day seat sale with fares from just €24.99 available from today, only on www.Ryanair.com. We look forward to welcoming millions of Maltese citizens/visitors onboard Ryanair’s low fare flights to/from Malta in 2024.”

Ryanair today (7 Feb) welcomed the EU General Court ruling that €3.4bn Covid-19 State aid granted by the Netherlands to Air France-KLM in 2020 was illegal. This is the second time that the EU General Court has ruled this aid package to be illegal, after the Commission failed to correct the errors made in its original decision when it essentially re-issued it in 2021, ignoring the Court’s first ruling in this case. Today’s decision is also the fourth time overall that the Court has ruled that Covid-19 State aid to the Air France-KLM Group was unlawful. Ryanair now calls on the European Commission to order the Netherlands to immediately recover this multi-billion euro illegal State aid package from Air France-KLM and impose adequate remedies to repair at least some of the damage to competition done by this massive State bailout.

Ryanair’s spokesperson said:

“One of the EU’s greatest achievements is the creation of a true single market for air transport. The European Commission’s approval of the Dutch State aid to Air France-KLM went against the fundamental principles of EU law, like the principle of non-discrimination on the basis of nationality. Today’s judgment confirms that the Commission must act as a guardian of the level playing field in air transport and cannot sign-off discriminatory State aid issued by national governments. The Court’s intervention is a triumph for fair competition and consumers across the EU. 

The EU Commission’s spineless approach to State aid since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis allowed Member States to write open-ended cheques to their inefficient zombie flag carriers in the name of faded national prestige.

During the Covid-19 pandemic over €40bn in discriminatory State subsidies was gifted to EU flag carriers. The EU General Court has already ruled in other cases concerning Covid-19 State aid that billions of euros in aid received by SAS, Lufthansa, Air France-KLM, and certain Italian airlines were unlawful.

The European Commission’s Directorate General for Competition has still not acted to force recovery of the unlawful aid, nor has it imposed any measures to remedy the damage to competition caused by the Swedish, Danish, German, French, and Italian governments favouring their local airlines over other EU airlines, in breach of EU law. Today’s judgment underlines the need for the European Commission to immediately act to recover these illegal State aid packages and order remedies to restore at least some of the damage done to competition.

Undistorted competition eliminates inefficiency and benefits consumers through low fares and choice. Unjustified subsidies, on the other hand, encourage ineffectiveness and will harm consumers for decades to come.”

RYANAIR LAUCHES €19.99 RESCUE FARES ON CUT WIZZ AIR ROUTES

Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, today (6^th Feb) launched rescue fares from just €19.99 for passengers affected by Wizz Air’s latest cancellation of a further 21 routes to/from Hungary, Romania, Luxembourg, Serbia and Slovenia. This follows Wizz Air’s sudden removal of 5 Poland-based aircraft and cancellation of 19 Polish routes just last week.

Ryanair’s Head of Comms, Jade Kirwan said:

“Ryanair yet again saves the day as Wizz Air cuts its routes, with a further 21 routes to/from Hungary, Romania, Luxembourg, Serbia and Slovenia cut in addition to 19 Polish routes cut just last week. As Europe’s most reliable and low fare airline, we will be happy to welcome Wizz Air passengers on our regular flights, including from Niš to Vienna and from Skiathos to Bucharest, from just €19.99. Passengers can book these €19.99 rescue fares now at www.ryanair.com.”