Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, today (8^th Jun) announced 200 weekly flights and 17 new routes to/from Albania as part of its Winter ‘23 schedule, including Edinburgh, London Stansted and Manchester routes for UK holidaymakers.

Albania will become the 37^th country within Ryanair’s network, as the airline continues to grow to carry 300m passenger by 2034. With its recent record order of 300 new B737-MAX-10s, Ryanair will grow to c. 800 aircraft by 2033 and is the only major airline which can deliver long-term meaningful growth in Europe

To celebrate today’s announcement, Ryanair will launch a 3-day seat sale on its new route to/from Tirana Airport from £29.99 one way for travel from Oct’23 until Mar’24, which must be booked by 11^th June, available only at Ryanair.com.

From Tirana, Ryanair DAC’s CEO, Eddie Wilson said:

“As Europe’s largest airline, we are delighted to announce 200 weekly Ryanair flights to/from Albania starting from Winter ’23. These initial 17 new routes will grant immediate access to key inbound tourism markets such as, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania Sweden, and the UK whilst also providing competitive fares and increased connectivity for Albanians who want to visit home, or friends and family abroad.

We have worked closely with our partners here at Tirana Airport to launch these 17 new routes and hope to strengthen the relationship over time as we work together to drive inbound tourism and connectivity to Albania. These routes will allow millions of visitors from major cities across Europe to experience the wonders of Albania, from the white sand beaches of the Albania Riviera to the historical architecture of Unesco site Gjirokastër, and lively nightlife in Tirana.

To celebrate today’s announcement, we will launch a 3-day seat sale for these routes to/from Tirana Airport from £29.99 one way for travel from Oct’23 until Mar’24, which must be booked by 11^th June, available only at Ryanair.com.”

Mr. Musa Kastrati, Senior Vice President of Kastrati Group, said:

“On behalf of Tirana International Airport, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Ryanair for their remarkable trust in the potential of the Albanian market.

We welcome Ryanair’s decision to operate flights to and from Tirana International Airport, providing affordable and accessible air travel options, which will undoubtedly benefit both inbound and outbound travelers.

I am confident that through the extensive network of Ryanair, Tirana International Airport will contribute to the further development of passenger choices, tourism, and the economy of Albania. We look forward to a fruitful partnership with Ryanair, as we work together to build memorable journeys for passengers traveling to and from our beautiful nation.”

RELEASE DAA LANDS FOR TEMP CAR PARKS THIS SUMMER AT DUB AIRPORT

Ryanair, Ireland’s largest airline, today (9th June) called on the DAA monopoly to stop gaming the regulatory system to obtain more unjustified price increases on its already high airport charges at Dublin. Ryanair pointed to a number of regulatory issues where it believes the DAA airport monopoly is currently gaming the system;

1. The DAA’s recent claim that it needs a price increase to fix staffing shortages in its security operation are FALSE. The Summer 2022 security queues issue at Dublin Airport was a direct result of DAA mismanagement and this self-inflicted failure is now being used by the DAA monopoly as an excuse for further unjustified price increases. The DAA has already received excessive price increases under the regulatory system in Ireland, yet despite this booming income, it still mismanaged security staffing in Dublin in 2022.
2. DAA is seeking price increases to fund an unnecessary 4 lane tunnel under the taxiway to access the west apron. This is where any 3rd terminal will ultimately be located. Yet over the weekend, a DAA spokesperson repeatedly confirmed that the DAA does not support a 3rd terminal. If DAA does not support a 3rd terminal, why is it wasting €200m building a tunnel under a taxiway to access the west apron where a 3rd terminal would be built?
3. The DAA claim that its car parks are “full” as a reason to pressure the Competition Authority to wave through approval of its monopoly grab for the QuickPark car park. The DAA owns lots of land immediately surrounding Dublin Airport (such as the Dublin Airport Driving Range for example), which could be opened as a temporary car park at very short notice, releasing pressure on Dublin Airport car parking and more importantly keeping the cost of car parking low for customers.
4. The DAA is already the beneficiary of the return of duty free sales on routes to/from the UK. The Regulator should be reducing Dublin Airport fees to take account of the booming sales and profitability the DAA monopoly now enjoys thanks to the restoration of duty free sales on UK flights.
   Ryanair calls on the Competition Authority to reject the DAA’s regulatory gaming, and on the Transport Minister, Eamon Ryan (who as usual goes missing during this car parking crisis) to instruct the DAA to open its land bank around Dublin Airport and for temporary car parking during the peak summer months, so that Irish consumers can park close to Dublin Airport. Minister Ryan should also instruct the DAA to withdraw its bid for the QuickPark car park to encourage other investors to introduce much needed competition for car parking availability at Dublin Airport.

A Spokesperson for Ryanair said:

“Last year the DAA was using its mismanagement of security queues as an excuse for more price increases. This year the DAA is mismanaging car parking deliberately, in our view, so that they can pressure the Competition Authority to award them monopoly control over the QuickPark car park, which is the only competing car park at Dublin Airport. The DAA could solve the car park issue by simply parking cars on a temporary basis in the many fields and/or driving ranges it owns close to Dublin Airport. Emergency times need emergency measures. The DAA solution to all of these problems is to pressure regulators for price increases or to expand its monopoly control over car parking. The DAA should stick to growing traffic at Dublin Airport, and reducing its expensive passenger fees, particularly now that it is a beneficiary of booming duty free sales on its wide route network to the UK. It’s time for Minister Ryan to take action to protect consumers rather than, as usual, being asleep on the job.”

Ryanair Holdings Plc today (7^th June) confirmed that the US Class Action launched by the City of Birmingham Pension Fund in Nov 2018, has been settled following recent mediation between the parties. This settlement came after the US District Court in 2020 dismissed many of the claims made by the plaintiff, considerably narrowing the grounds for action.

A spokesperson for Ryanair welcomed this settlement. The total settlement amount is $5m, which is considerably less than the legal costs that would have been incurred had this action gone all the way to trial. Ryanair contends there was no lawful basis for this claim, but that the settlement is in the interest of all shareholders due to the very modest settlement amount. The final settlement agreement will be subject to approval by the Court.

Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, today (08 June) welcomed the recent ruling of the Barcelona Court of Appeal regarding the damage caused by Online Travel Agents (OTAs) to Ryanair and our customers. OTAs have no commercial agreements with Ryanair and are not authorised by Ryanair to sell our flights.

The Court affirmed the first instance decision which rejected ACAVE’s (a Spanish travel agencies association) criminal complaint against Ryanair and found that Ryanair’s statements on OTA’s damaging practices are true and supported by extensive documentary evidence. Specifically, the Courts found that it is standard practice for OTAs to overcharge customers by applying ‘service charges’, and that some OTAs frustrate Ryanair’s direct communications with customers and block refund payments by not providing Ryanair with the customer’s correct details.

Ryanair’s Dara Brady said:

“We welcome this Court ruling which definitely upholds Ryanair’s right to raise awareness about the damage OTAs cause to Ryanair’s image and Ryanair’s customers by overcharging them, frustrating our ability to contact them directly with important flight updates and blocking refunds they are entitled to.

We encourage all customers to book their flights directly on the Ryanair website or app to access the lowest fares and direct customer services. Customers should look out for the Ryanair Verified Seal to ensure they are booking directly with Ryanair and getting the best value and service.”

CALL ON URSULA VON DER LEYEN TO TAKE ACTION AND PROTECT EU OVERFLIGHTS DURING REPEATED ATC STRIKES

Ryanair, Europe’s No. 1 airline, has today (5^th June) called on the EU Commission under Ursula von der Leyen to take urgent action to protect overflights and EU citizens’ freedom of movement during the French ATC strike taking place today, Mon 5^th and tomorrow, Tues 6^th June.

In the past 5 months of 2023, there has been 58 days of ATC strikes (over 11 times more than in 2022). These repeated ATC strikes have unfairly forced airlines to disproportionately cancel thousands of EU overflights from Germany, Spain, Italy, the UK and Ireland while France in particular, uses Minimum Service Laws to protect their domestic/short-haul flights while cancelling overflights. This is unfair. France (and all other EU states) should use Minimum Service Laws to protect overflights during ATC strikes as they do in Greece, Italy and Spain.

Last week, Ryanair delivered its ‘Protect Overflights: Keep EU Skies Open’ petition to EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen’s office, having collected more than 1.1 million signatures from fed-up passengers demanding that the EU Commission protect overflights and EU citizens’ freedom of movement during repeated ATC strikes. Despite this, EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, has unsurprisingly done nothing to protect these passengers as hundreds more EU overflights are cancelled again due to the French ATC strike taking place today and tomorrow.

We call on the EU Commission, under Ursula von der Leyen to:

– Respect the strike rights of ATC unions, but

– Protect 100% of overflights (like Greece, Italy & Spain) during national ATC strikes

– If ATC strikes require cancellations, then allocate these to domestic/short-haul flights to/from the affected State

– Enforce binding arbitration for ATC disputes before strike action

– Require a 21-day notice of strike action

– Require a 72h notice of employee participation in ATC strikes to minimise passenger disruption

A Ryanair spokesperson said:

“Last week, Ryanair delivered our ‘Protect Overflights: Keep EU Skies Open’ petition to EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen’s office, having collected more than 1.1 million signatures from fed-up passengers demanding that the EU Commission protect overflights and EU citizens’ freedom of movement during repeated ATC strikes.

It is utterly unacceptable that Ursula von der Leyen is ignoring these more than 1.1 million passengers, who are sick and tired of having their overflights cancelled at short notice due to repeated ATC strikes. As a result, hundreds more overflights are being disproportionately cancelled by yet another French ATC strike taking place today, 5^th and tomorrow, 6^th June.

It is completely impermissible that ATC strikes can result in the cancellation of thousands of EU passengers’ flights, while France and other EU Member States use Minimum Service Laws to protect their domestic flights. If ATC unions insist on striking, which is their right, then they should cancel flights to/from the affected State and protect overflights, not cancel EU overflights from Germany, Spain, Italy, the UK.

The EU Commission must now take urgent action and insist that all States protect overflights during ATC strikes as is already done in Greece, Italy and Spain.”

    Ryanair Holdings plc today (Fri, 2 Jun) released May 2023 traffic stats as follows:

Ryanair, the UK and Europe’s no. 1 airline, today (01 Jun) celebrated 35 million passengers in its 35 years of operations at Liverpool John Lennon Airport. Ryanair was the first low-cost airline to operate at Liverpool John Lennon Airport, starting with its first flight from Dublin Airport back in 1988 bringing low fares to Liverpool citizens/visitors.

Ryanair’s Liverpool Summer ‘23 schedule will deliver:

• 1 new based aircraft (4 total)
• $400m investment
• 31 routes, incl. 4 new – Ibiza, Madrid, Rome & Shannon
• Over 255 flights per week
• Increased frequencies on 7 routes – Alicante, Cork, Dublin, Knock, Paris, Reus & Tenerife
• 15% capacity growth (vs S22)
• Supporting over 1,500 jobs, incl.120 direct jobs

This summer, Ryanair operates its biggest ever summer schedule at Liverpool John Lennon Airport with over 255 weekly flights across 31 routes incl. new sunshine destinations, like Ibiza and Madrid as well as increased frequencies on 7 popular Liverpool routes incl. Alicante, Paris, Reus, and Tenerife, offering its Liverpool customers unbeatable choice at the lowest fares when booking their summer ’23 getaways and driving invaluable inbound tourism for the region at the same time.

To celebrate 35 years and 35 million passengers at Liverpool John Lennon Airport, as well as Ryanair’s record-breaking Liverpool schedule for Summer ‘23, the airline has launched a special seat sale with fares from £29.99 for travel until end of Oct ‘23, available only at www.ryanair.com.

Ryanair’s Head of Communications, Jade Kirwan said:

“We are delighted to celebrate 35 years and 35 million Ryanair passengers at Liverpool John Lennon Airport, with our 35millionth passenger departing this morning on our popular Porto route – just one of the 31 routes we are operating as part of our biggest ever schedule this summer.

Ryanair has operated at Liverpool John Lennon Airport since 1988 and our record Summer ’23 schedule will not only provide Liverpool’s customers/visitors with an unbeatable selection of sunny hotspots and vibrant European city break destinations this Summer, particularly across Belgium, Croatia, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia and Sweden where we operate exclusively to/from Liverpool John Lennon Airport, but will continue to promote important regional development through the support of over 1,500 local jobs, and delivery of even greater connectivity with Europe and its millions of holidaymakers.

To celebrate this phenomenal milestone, we have launched a special seat sale with fares from just £29.99 for travel until the end of Oct ’23 available only on Ryanair.com.”

Robin Tudor, Head of PR & Communications at Liverpool John Lennon Airport added:

“Ryanair were the first low-cost airline to operate from Liverpool and for 35 years they have been giving the region’s passengers the opportunity to travel to a host of popular overseas destinations from their local faster, easier, friendlier, airport of choice at some of the lowest air fares around. This continues today as we gear up for the busy summer holiday period and look forward to welcoming thousands of Ryanair passengers over the coming weeks.”