Dublin (Tues, 27 May) – Ryanair has carried over 6 million passengers through Belfast International Airport since it began operations to/from the airport in 2016. Since then, Ryanair has invested heavily in the region, with 2 based aircraft representing a $200m investment and supporting over 1,000 local jobs, as well as providing Northern Irish citizens/visitors with more choice at the lowest fares via a robust schedule of 176 weekly flights across 19 routes to/from Belfast, including an exciting new route to Kaunas.

Ryanair’s Director of Comms, Jade Kirwan, said:

“We’re pleased to announce that Ryanair has carried over 6 million passengers through Belfast International Airport since we began operations back in 2016. This significant milestone showcases Ryanair’s continued support and investment for Belfast, delivering important connectivity, traffic, tourism, jobs, and economic growth for Northern Ireland. This summer, Ryanair is operating a robust schedule to/from Belfast with 176 weekly flights across 19 routes, including our new Kaunas route. This schedule will largely operate on our 2 Belfast based aircraft – an investment of $200m and supporting over 1,000 local jobs.

While Ryanair has grown significantly at Belfast over the years, we could be growing more rapidly at Belfast and the wider UK, but Rachel Reeves’ bizarre decision to raise APD taxes by £2 per passenger damages these growth prospects. If the UK Govt. wants to deliver growth, they should abolish their penal and damaging APD tax, which makes the UK uncompetitive when EU countries like Sweden, Hungary, and regions in Italy are abolishing aviation taxes, and winning dramatic traffic, tourism, and jobs growth from the UK.

We look forward to carrying millions more passengers to/from Belfast on Ryanair’s low-fare flights over the years to come.”

Belfast International Airport CEO, Dan Owens, said:

“We are delighted to celebrate this significant milestone with Ryanair, marking 6 million passengers flown from Belfast International Airport . This achievement reflects the strength of our partnership and the growing demand for affordable, accessible travel from Northern Ireland. Ryanair continues to play a vital role in connecting Belfast to key destinations across Europe, and we look forward to building on this success together.”