Ryanair, Ireland’s No.1 airline, today (Tues, 4 Apr) called on Transport Min. Eamon Ryan and the DAA to confirm that the recently purchased anti-drone equipment at Dublin Airport is in place, and fully ready to operate, to prevent illegal drone closures at Dublin Airport over the busy Easter holiday period.

In the first 8 weeks of 2023, Dublin Airport was closed six times due to the illegal drone activity, causing multiple diversions and delays to thousands of passengers. Transport Min. Eamon Ryan must now confirm that 5 weeks later the drone disabling equipment at Dublin Airport is operational and ready for use over Easter holidays so that Irish passengers/visitors will not suffer drone closures this Easter or into the summer season.

A Ryanair spokesperson said:

“It is unacceptable that flights and passengers have suffered repeated delays and diversions due to illegal drone activity at Dublin Airport on six separate days in 2023. Transport Min. Eamon Ryan promised to protect passengers with anti-drone equipment, so he must now confirm that this equipment is in place and fully operational at Dublin Airport in advance of the busy Easter holidays, so that Irish passengers/visitors and their families will not suffer any more closures/disruptions due to illegal drone activity at Dublin Airport.”

Ryanair Holdings plc today (Mon, 3 Apr) released Mar 2023 traffic stats as follows:

Ryanair, the UK’s No.1 airline, today (31 Mar) announced that it has responded to the UK Govt’s 50% APD cut for domestic travel from April ’23 with the opening of 9 new domestic routes to/from Belfast, Bournemouth, Cardiff, Edinburgh. East Midlands, London, Manchester, and Newquay.

However, this 50% reduction ignores international connectivity which is fundamental for the growth of the UK’s economy and tourism. Ryanair calls again on the UK Govt to fully abolish APD for all travel immediately, which would not only promote tourism, but also support job growth, and much needed connectivity to the UK – an island-based economy on the edge of Europe.

UK customers can now book one of Ryanair’s new UK domestic routes on www.Ryanair.com

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

“Ryanair is pleased to announce 9 new domestic UK routes in direct response to the UK Govt’s 50% reduction in UK APD from tomorrow, 1 Apr. Reducing APD will result in market growth in the UK, and these new routes show just that with 74 weekly flights scheduled across Belfast, Bournemouth, Cardiff, Edinburgh. East Midlands, London, Manchester, and Newquay representing 95% growth on our UK domestic schedule compared to last Summer.

While the halving of APD on domestic flights from Apr ‘23 has allowed Ryanair to add more domestic routes to our UK schedule for Summer ’23, if we are to continue to grow and drive traffic/tourism recovery for the UK, the UK Govt should immediately scrap APD for all travel and provide incentives for airlines like Ryanair to stimulate growth and recovery for the entire UK market.”

Ryanair, Ireland’s No 1 airline, has today (28 Mar) announced that it is adding over 1,500 seats on its Dublin – Liverpool route ahead of 2023’s highly anticipated Eurovision Song Contest on 13 May. Secure your Ryanair seat to Liverpool and cheer on live from the M&S Bank Arena for the ultimate Eurovision experience.

Ryanair’s Dara Brady, said:

“We’ve had record bookings from Irish fans travelling to Liverpool this year for what is set to be an exciting Eurovision Song Contest 2023. To satisfy huge demand, we have added 4 extra return flights to our Dublin – Liverpool route. We encourage all fans to book their seat on Ryanair.com now to avoid disappointment.”

The Board of Ryanair Holdings plc today (Tues 28th March) announced that Ms Elisabeth Köstinger, an Austrian citizen, and Mr Eamonn Brennan, an Irish citizen, have agreed to join the Board of Ryanair Holdings plc as non-executive directors effective from 1 April 2023.

Elisabeth Köstinger is a former Austrian politician who was an MEP from 2009 to 2017, and subsequently served as Minister for Agriculture, Sustainability and Tourism in the Government of Chancellors Kurz, Schallenberg and Nehammer. She retired from politics in 2022 to become CEO of an Austrian ESG-Fintech. 

Eamonn Brennan was formerly Chief Executive of the Irish Aviation Authority, and more recently the Director General of Eurocontrol from 2018 to 2022. Mr Brennan has been a central figure in European aviation over the past 5 years.

Ryanair’s Chairman Stan McCarthy said:

“We are pleased that Elisabeth and Eamonn have accepted our invitation to join the Board of Ryanair Holdings plc from 1 April 2023. Elisabeth brings significant political, environmental and business experience, and is our first Continental European Board Member since 2013. Eamonn brings enormous aviation expertise to the Board as former CEO of the Irish Aviation Authority and DG of Eurocontrol. We look forward to both Elisabeth and Eamonn making a significant contribution to our Board, as we develop our strategy for growth of low fare services across Europe for the next decade.” 

ENDS

Ryanair, Europe’s largest passenger airline, today (Mon 27^th Mar) condemned the continuing cancellation of flights over France due to repeated French ATC strikes. As always, French Minimum Service Legislation is used to protect French domestic flights, but EU overflights from Germany, Spain, Italy, the UK and Ireland are cancelled solely because a tiny French ATC union repeatedly closes the skies over Europe.

Over this past weekend, over 25% of Ryanair’s 9,000 scheduled flights were delayed due to French ATC disruptions, and 230 flights (41,000 passengers) were cancelled to comply with French ATC capacity restrictions. These repeated disruptions of EU overflights is unacceptable.

Last year, Eurocontrol recommended the Commission take modest action to respond to ATC strikes (without affecting the right to strike) as follows; 

• Impose ATC minimum service requirements with a clear reduction of domestic flights
• All overflights allowed with no ATC delays
• Minimum advance strike notice to allow airlines to reschedule flights or advise passengers

Sadly, to date, the EU Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen have failed to take any action on these measures to protect EU citizens and overflights.

A spokesperson for Ryanair said:

“Ursula von der Leyen and the EU Commission repeatedly claim that the Single Market is a priority for Europe. In negotiations around Brexit, the Single Market was the EU Commissions priority. However, every time French ATC goes on strike, the Single Market for air travel over Europe is disrupted, yet the EU Commission sits on its hands taking no action.

When the French Government uses Minimum Service Legislation to protect French flights, why does Ursula von der Leyen and the EU Commission stand idly by and allow EU overflights to be disproportionately cancelled on a daily basis? We call on the Commission to take legal action against France and its ATC unions, to protect EU overflights. Innocent EU passengers travelling from Germany to Spain, or from Ireland to Italy, are entitled to rely on the EU’s Single Market for air travel, and their overflights should not be repeatedly cancelled because the EU Commissions fails to take action to defend the Single Market.

Europe’s Single European Sky (SESAR) project has been a 20 year catalogue of failure. No progress has been made in 2 decades. Eurocontrol has already recommended that the Commission take legal action to protect overflights, and it is about time that Ursula von der Leyen and her Commission stopped hiding and started acting to defend the Single Market for air travel across Europe. We have no difficulty with French unions exercising their right to strike, but we expect the European Commission to defend and protect the Single Market, and not have it repeatedly shut down or EU overflights cancelled just because French ATC unions engage in these recreational strikes.”

ENDS

 

CALLING ON URSULA VON DER LEYEN TO PROTECT PASSENGER FLIGHTS AND KEEP EU SKIES OPEN DURING FRENCH ATC STRIKES

Following repeated inaction by the EU Commission under Ursula von der Leyen, who have failed to take action to protect EU passenger flights during French Air Traffic Control (ATC) strikes, Ryanair is now calling on EU passengers to sign its ‘PROTECT PASSENGERS – KEEP EU SKIES OPEN’ petition, and join its call on the EU Commission to protect passengers by protecting overflights during French ATC strikes.

So far in 2023, French ATC strikes have delayed/cancelled the flights of over 1m airline passengers, while the EU Commission have failed to protect these passengers’ flights. Even though it’s French ATC that are striking, most disrupted passengers are not flying to/from France but overfly French airspace en route to their destination (e.g., UK – Spain, Italy, Greece). While French law unfairly protects domestic flights, which means French flights are protected but non-French flights get cancelled. This is unfair.

As there is currently no EU reg to protect flights over French airspace during French ATC strikes, Ryanair and its 168m passengers demand that the EU Commission take the following measures:

1. Protect French overflights during ATC strikes (using min services laws) as they do in Greece, Italy and Spain
2. Allow Europe’s other ATCs to manage flights over France while French ATC are on strike
3. Mandate that French ATC unions engage in binding arbitration before calling of strikes

Ryanair also confirmed today that it will submit its ‘PROTECT PASSENGERS – KEEP EU SKIES OPEN’ petition to the EU Commission when it reaches 1 million signatures to demand that they take action to protect European passengers and their families by keeping EU skies open during French ATC strikes.

Ryanair’s Eddie Wilson said:

“While we respect the right to strike, it is completely unacceptable that Europe’s passenger flights that overfly France are repeatedly delayed or cancelled by French ATC strikes. So far in 2023, more than 1,000,000 EU passengers have faced unnecessary delays/cancellations as a result of 14 separate French ATC strikes, with zero action taken by Ursula von der Leyen’s Commission to protect them. It’s just not fair that flights to and from France are protected by min.

Despite multiple unanswered calls on the EU Commission to protect passenger flights by keeping the EU skies open during French ATC strikes, Ryanair has launched an EU wide petition to ‘PROTECT PASSENGERS – KEEP EU SKIES OPEN, where passengers are asked to support our call on the EU Commission to take action to protect Europeans and their families and their travel plans during French ATC strikes, which have become an almost weekly occurrence.

Afterall, if the EU won’t listen to its airlines, perhaps they’ll listen to millions of Europe’s passengers instead.”