Ryanair, Europe’s no.1 airline, has today (17 May) called on Naviair and Min. of Transport, Thomas Danielsen, to protect passengers whose flights are being needlessly delayed due to a lack of air traffic controller resources in Naviair.

In the past 4 months, over 600 flights and over 110,000 passengers have suffered delays at Copenhagen Airport due to ongoing staffing issues. Last month, Naviair promised “a more stable operation in May and the coming months” yet have taken no action to protect passengers or prevent these daily delays caused by air traffic controllers refusing to take extra shifts after months of overtime due to a shortage of staff at the airport.

Ryanair calls on Naviair and the Danish Govt to take immediate action and protect passengers travelling to/from Copenhagen Airport during these ongoing delays, particularly over the busy bank holiday weekend.

Neal McMahon, Ryanair’s Chief Operations Officer said:

“It is completely unacceptable that passengers continue to suffer delays at Copenhagen Airport due to the ongoing staffing issues, which have already impacted more than 110,000 passengers in the past 4 months.

Danish citizens and visitors to Denmark should be able to travel to see friends and family, particularly over the bank holiday weekend, without the worry of their flight being delayed needlessly by Naviair’s failure to settle this staffing dispute.

Copenhagen airport is the major access point into Denmark and it is time that Naviair and Min. for Transport Thomas Danielsen take immediate action to protect passengers and prevent any further needless delays at Copenhagen Airport.”

Ryanair, Ireland’s No.1 airline, announced today (16 May) that its brand-new routes from Cork Airport to Seville and La Rochelle are due to take off for the first time this June bank holiday weekend (1 & 4 June respectively) as part of the airline’s biggest ever Summer ’23 schedule.

This Summer, Ryanair will operate over 270 weekly flights across 29 routes to/from Cork Airport, incl. these exciting new sunshine destinations – Seville and La Rochelle – offering southern customers/visitors unbeatable choice at the lowest fares when booking their summer holidays while driving invaluable inbound tourism too.

Ryanair’s unrivalled growth at Cork Airport (+20% growth vs. S22) is underpinned by the airline’s 3 based aircraft, representing a $300m investment and supporting over 1,300 jobs, and is driven by Cork Airport’s long-term commitment to maintain competitive airport charges, providing the cost certainty for airlines to invest and grow in the region.

Southern customers/visitors can book both of these exciting new Ryanair routes from just €29.99 one-way for travel until Oct 2023 on www.Ryanair.com.

Ryanair’s Head of Communications, Jade Kirwan, said:

“As Cork’s No. 1 airline, Ryanair is delighted to operate our first flights from Cork Airport to Seville in Spain and La Rochelle in France this June bank holiday weekend as part of our biggest ever Summer ’23 schedule.

These two exciting new routes to Seville and La Rochelle add to our 27 routes currently operating to/from Cork Airport this Summer, including our new Venice and Rome routes, offering our customers in the south of Ireland even more choice and at the lowest fares when booking their Summer ’23 getaways.

This record schedule is underpinned by Ryanair’s 3 based aircraft at Cork Airport, which represent a $300m investment and support over 1,300 local jobs while driving invaluable inbound tourism for the region too.

We look forward to welcoming even more customers onboard our flights to/from Cork this Summer as Ryanair continues to deliver more traffic, connectivity, and lower fares than any other airline for Ireland.”

Barry Holland, Communications Manager at Cork Airport added:

“This June Bank Holiday weekend will see the addition of two new summer routes to Seville, Spain and La Rochelle, France from Cork Airport. These two new Ryanair destinations will offer even more choice for passengers from across the South of Ireland when booking a summer getaway.

Seville, the capital city of the Andalucía region in southern Spain is known for its stunning architecture, authentic Spanish cuisine, and rich history. La Rochelle, on the France’s idyllic western coastline is a thriving maritime city, located in the splendid surrounds of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. With its picturesque harbour, charming old town and lively street cafes, La Rochelle is a city that is both elegant and vibrant.

This year, Cork Airport will serve over 2.6 million passengers, thanks to Ryanair’s continued commitment to Cork Airport and the expansion of their network with the addition of these two fantastic new routes.”

Ryanair today (10 May) welcomed the EU General Court’s rulings on discriminatory State aid favoring Lufthansa and SAS over other EU airlines. The German government granted a blockbuster €6bn recapitalization aid package to Lufthansa, while the Swedish and Danish governments recapitalized SAS to the tune of €1bn.

While the Covid-19 crisis caused serious damage to all airlines, many national governments, including Germany, Sweden and Denmark, rushed through discriminatory subsidy schemes for their former flag carriers, ignoring other airlines that contribute to the economy and the connectivity of the European Union. Ryanair appealed the European Commission’s approval of these illegal subsidies to the EU General Court in 2021.

The EU General Court found the European Commission made a number of egregious errors in its approval of the aid to Lufthansa, including ignoring Lufthansa’s dominance in Germany, and failing to assess whether Lufthansa could have obtained financing on the markets instead of obtaining distortive State aid from the German government. In the SAS judgment, the General Court found that the recapitalisation measure lacked conditions incentivising swift exit of the governments. Today’s judgments are a victory for the EU internal market and are damning of the European Commission’s head-in-the-sand approach to massive and discriminatory bailouts of ailing flag carriers by EU Member States with deep pockets.

Ryanair’s spokesperson said:

“One of the EU’s greatest achievements is the creation of a single market for air transport. The European Commission’s approval of the German recapitalisation aid to Lufthansa and the Swedish and Danish recapitalisation aid to SAS went against the fundamental principles of EU law. Today’s judgments confirm that the Commission must act as a guardian of the level playing field in air transport and cannot sign-off discriminatory State aid under political pressure by national governments. The Court’s intervention is a triumph for fair competition and consumers across the EU. 

During the Covid-19 pandemic over €40bn in discriminatory State subsidies has been gifted to EU flag carriers. Unless halted by the EU Courts in line with today’s ruling, this State aid spree will distort the market for decades to come. Europe’s emergence from the COVID-19 crisis with a functioning single market depends on airlines being allowed to compete on a level playing field. 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”.

10,000 NEW JOBS TO BE CREATED AS ANNUAL TRAFFIC GROWS 80% TO 300MPA BY 2034

Ryanair Holdings plc today (9 May 2023) ordered 300 new Boeing 737-MAX-10 aircraft (150 firm and 150 options) for delivery between 2027 to 2033. When finalised, and subject to all options being exercised, this deal is valued at over $40bn at current list prices and is the largest order ever placed by an Irish Company for US manufactured goods. Given the size and scale of the transaction, it will be subject to shareholder approval at Ryanair’s 14 Sept. AGM.

Boeing’s new fuel efficient, B737-MAX-10 aircraft have 228 seats (21% more than the B737NG) and the phased deliveries between 2027 and 2033 will enable Ryanair to create more than 10,000 new high-paid jobs for pilots, cabin crew and engineers, to facilitate disciplined traffic growth of 80% from 168m in year end March 2023 to 300m p.a. by March 2034.  Ryanair expects 50% of these deliveries will replace older B737NGs, which will allow Ryanair to continue to operate one of Europe’s youngest, most fuel efficient, and environmentally sustainable aircraft fleets.

In addition to very significant revenue growth this new order offers Ryanair, the extra seats (coupled with greater fuel and carbon efficiency) will further widen Ryanair’s unit-cost advantage over all EU competitor airlines. This new order will enable Ryanair to deliver sustained traffic and tourism growth at lower fares (and lower emissions per flight) across all European countries where Ryanair continues to lead the post Covid traffic, tourism and jobs recovery.

Given the strength of the Ryanair Group’s balance sheet, its industry leading credit rating and the approx. 2-year gap between the last delivery of B-8200 “Gamechanger” aircraft in FY25, and the first MAX-10 delivery in FY27, the Group anticipates that capex will be substantially funded from internal cashflows, although the Group will remain opportunistic in its fleet financing strategy.

Boeing President & CEO, Dave Calhoun, said:

“The Boeing-Ryanair partnership is one of the most productive in commercial aviation history, enabling both companies to succeed and expand affordable travel to hundreds of millions of people.  Nearly a quarter century after our companies signed our first direct airplane purchase, this landmark deal will further strengthen our partnership.  We are committed to delivering for Ryanair and helping Europe’s largest airline group achieve its goals by offering its customers the lowest fares in Europe.”

Ryanair Group CEO, Michael O’Leary, said:

“Ryanair is pleased to sign this record aircraft order for up to 300 MAX-10s with our aircraft partner Boeing.  These new, fuel efficient, greener technology aircraft offer 21% more seats, burn 20% less fuel and are 50% quieter than our B737-NGs. This order, coupled with our remaining Gamechanger deliveries, will create 10,000 new jobs for highly paid aviation professionals over the next decade, and these jobs will be located across all of Europe’s main economies where Ryanair is currently the No.1 or No.2 airline.

In addition to delivering significant revenue and traffic growth across Europe, we expect these new, larger, more efficient, greener, aircraft to drive further unit cost savings, which will be passed on to passengers in lower air fares. The extra seats, lower fuel burn and more competitive aircraft pricing supported by our strong balance sheet, will widen the cost gap between Ryanair and competitor EU airlines for many years to come, making the Boeing MAX-10 the ideal growth aircraft order for Ryanair, our passengers, our people and our shareholders.”

Ryanair, Europe’s No 1 airline, has today (5 May) announced that it has added extra flights across multiple Irish routes incl. Glasgow – Dublin, Dublin – Glasgow, La Rochelle – Dublin, and Dublin – La Rochelle ahead of 2023’s highly anticipated Rugby European Challenge Cup final and Heineken Champions Cup final, both taking place in Dublin this month.

Secure your Ryanair flight and cheer on your team from a stadium seat for the ultimate match day experience.

Ryanair’s Jade Kirwan said:

“We’ve had record bookings from rugby fans travelling this year for what is set to be spectacular European Challenge Cup final and Heineken Champions Cup final, both taking place in Dublin this month. To fulfil this overwhelming demand, we have added extra flights across routes from to/from Ireland, Scotland, and France, including Glasgow – Dublin, Dublin – Glasgow as well as La Rochelle – Dublin and Dublin – La Rochelle.

While we’re adding additional flights, we expect these seats to sell out fast and encourage all rugby fans to book their low-fare Ryanair seats now to avoid missing out.”

PRÄSIDENTIN VON DER LEYEN ZEIGT SICH NICHT, WÄHREND ÜBER 4.000 FLÜGE GESTRICHEN WERDEN UND 730.000 PASSAGIERE VON DEN STREIKS DER FRANZÖSISCHEN ATC BETROFFEN SIND 

Ryanair, Europas Fluggesellschaft Nr. 1, und die genervten Passagiere Europas haben heute (04. Mai) die EU-Kommission erneut aufgefordert, sofortige Maßnahmen zu ergreifen, um die Bewegungsfreiheit der europäischen Bürger und Überflüge während der Streiks der französischen Flugsicherung zu schützen, nachdem am Montag, den 1. Mai, der 52. Tag gestreikt wurde. 

Obwohl die Petition erst vor sechs Wochen ins Leben gerufen wurde, haben bereits über 700.000 Passagiere die Petition von Ryanair “Protect Passengers: Keep EU Skies Open” unterzeichnet, in der die EU-Kommission aufgefordert wird, unverzüglich Maßnahmen zu ergreifen, um die Bewegungsfreiheit der europäischen Bürger und die Überflüge während der Streiks der französischen Flugsicherung zu schützen. Präsidentin von der Leyen hat jedoch noch nicht auf die zahlreichen Forderungen der EU-Passagiere reagiert, die aufgrund wiederholter Streiks der französischen Flugsicherung Annullierungen und Verspätungen hinnehmen mussten, obwohl sie nicht einmal nach/aus Frankreich reisen. Der Grund dafür ist, dass Frankreich die Mindestdienstvorschriften anwendet, um französische Inlandsflüge zu schützen, während EU-Überflüge aus Deutschland, Spanien, Italien, dem Vereinigten Königreich und Irland unverhältnismäßig häufig annulliert werden. Italien und Griechenland schützen bereits Überflüge während Streiks der Flugsicherung, und die EU-Kommission muss nun darauf bestehen, dass Frankreich dies ebenfalls tut.  

Ein Ryanair-Sprecher sagte: 

“Nach 52 Streiktagen der französischen Flugsicherung in den ersten vier Monaten des Jahres 2023, durch die die Flüge von über 730.000 Passagieren kurzfristig gestrichen wurden, zeigt sich Bundespräsidentin Ursula von der Leyen immer noch nicht. Sie hat noch nicht einmal die über 700.000 EU-Passagiere zur Kenntnis genommen, die unsere Petition “Protect Passengers: Keep EU Skies Open“ unterzeichnet haben, weil sie es satt haben, unnötige Beeinträchtigungen ihrer Reisepläne hinnehmen zu müssen, wenn eine geringe Anzahl französischer Flugsicherungsgewerkschaften streikt und das alles nur, weil die EU-Kommission es wiederholt versäumt hat, ihre Bewegungsfreiheit und Überflüge während französischer Flugsicherungsstreiks zu schützen. 

Es ist an der Zeit, dass die EU-Kommission die Überflüge während der Streiks der französischen Flugsicherung schützt, wie es Italien und Griechenland bereits tun. Wenn die französischen Flugsicherungsgewerkschaften auf einen Streik bestehen (was ihr gutes Recht ist), dann sollten sie die französischen Flüge streichen und die Überflüge schützen und nicht die EU-Überflüge aus Deutschland, Spanien, Italien und dem Vereinigten Königreich streichen. 

Ryanair ruft die Fluggäste in der EU dazu auf, uns dabei zu helfen, eine Million Unterschriften für unsere Petition Protect Passengers: Keep EU Skies Open zu erreichen und Präsidentin von der Leyen und die EU-Kommission aufzufordern, Maßnahmen zu ergreifen, um alle Flüge für EU-Bürger ein für alle Mal zu schützen.“ 

Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline and global energy group, Repsol, today (4 May) signed a Memo of Understanding (MOU) to advance the supply of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at Ryanair airports across Spain & Portugal further advancing the airline’s Pathway to Net Zero strategy.

While SAF is a key enabler of aviation decarbonisation, it only accounts for a small fraction of the current jet fuel usage worldwide. This agreement with Repsol gives Ryanair access to up to 155,000 tonnes (52m gallons) of SAF between 2025 and 2030 (equiv. to over 28,000 flights from Dublin to Madrid), saving approximately 490,000 tonnes in CO₂ emissions.

Ryanair has set itself an ambitious goal of using 12.5% SAF by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050, and this agreement demonstrates both Ryanair and Repsol’s commitment to working together and investing in SAF supply fuels.

Speaking at Repsol’s Headquarters in Madrid, Ryanair DAC’s CEO Eddie Wilson, said:

“SAF plays a key role in Ryanair’s Pathway to Net Zero strategy and our goal of using 12.5% SAF by 2030. Achieving this requires multiple different feedstocks and production methods and we’re encouraged that Repsol are looking at multiple solutions. This agreement helps Ryanair secure access to c.15% of this ambitious goal.

Repsol is a key sustainability partner for Ryanair, and we look forward to building on this collaboration as our Group grows to carry 225m passengers annually by FY26.”

Valero Marin, Repsol’s Executive Managing Director of Client, added:

“This collaboration agreement with Ryanair, Europe’s leading passenger airline, reinforces our commitment to the aviation sector and it is another step in Repsol’s commitment to renewable fuels. The aviation sector needs solutions such as SAF fuels to support the decarbonization process it is currently undergoing. This also consolidates our position as a multi-energy company with the objective of achieving zero net emissions by 2050”.