12 Routes With Over 115 Weekly Flights

Ryanair, the UK’s largest and most reliable airline, today (7^th July) announced its comeback to Belfast International Airport with a huge Summer schedule following the reopening of its base from Summer’23. Ryanair will start with 12 routes from Belfast International, operating over 115 weekly flights, including exciting sun destinations such as Alicante, Faro, Barcelona-Girona and Malaga. Ryanair will also launch domestic services to East-Midlands, Edinburgh, London-Stansted and Manchester.

Ryanair’s Belfast based fleet will comprise of 2 aircraft, representing a $200m investment and over 60 highly paid aviation jobs at Belfast International Airport and over 650 indirect jobs.

Ryanair’s Belfast International Summer’23 schedule will deliver:

• 2 based aircraft
• $200m investment in Belfast
• 12 new routes including Alicante, Faro, Barcelona-Girona, Malaga, Manchester, Milan-Bergamo and Stansted
• Over 115 flights per week
• Over 800 total jobs

After two difficult years for tourism, Ryanair’s return to Belfast International will allow holidaymakers to plan their Summer 2023 getaways to sunshine locations such as Alicante, Barcelona-Girona, Faro and Malaga early to ensure the lowest possible fares. Ryanair also looks forward to further connecting Belfast International to key cities such as Edinburgh, London-Stansted, Manchester, Milan-Bergamo and Paris-Beauvais.

Ryanair is leading the post-pandemic recovery across Europe with the help of traffic recovery schemes and lower airport charges. If the UK is to continue its recovery, the government needs to immediately support airlines by scrapping the aviation tax (APD) entirely for all flights. A 50% cut on domestic flights from April’23 is simply insufficient.

With 12 routes to choose from for Summer’23, Belfast International customers and visitors can already book a well-deserved getaway, flying on the lowest fares. To celebrate its return to Belfast International, Ryanair has launched a seat sale with fares available from just £19.99 which must be booked by the end of July’22 for travel from April – June’23, only on the Ryanair.com website.

From Belfast, Ryanair’s Director of Commercial, Jason McGuinness said:

“At a time when other airlines are cutting their schedules and reducing their workforce, we are delighted to announce a new Ryanair base at Belfast International Airport with 12 exciting routes and 2 based aircraft representing an investment of $200m at Belfast International and the creation of over 800 direct/indirect jobs.

We are delighted to have reached a long-term agreement with Belfast International’s management, which will underpin future Ryanair growth at the Airport over the coming years. Today’s announcement, particularly our decision to launch close to 80 weekly domestic flights to/from East-Midlands, Edinburgh, London-Stansted and Manchester demonstrates that lower aviation taxes and competitive airport charges are the catalyst for long-term traffic growth and increased connectivity.

 To enable additional investment from Ryanair (and other airlines) from next Summer onward, the UK Government must immediately scrap aviation taxes for all flights, otherwise it will put the UK (an island-based economy) at risk of losing air traffic to competing European countries.

To celebrate today’s announcement, we are launching a seat sale with fares available from £19.99 for travel from April’23 until June’23, which must be booked by the end of July’22. Since these amazing low fares will be snapped up quickly, customers should log onto www.ryanair.com and book early to avoid missing out.”

Belfast International Airport’s Chief Financial Officer Dan Owens said:

“We welcome back Ryanair to Belfast International Airport, Northern Ireland’s leading airport.

The Airport plays a pivotal role and is a key asset in aviation and tourism recovery after a challenging couple of years.  This is a significant investment, bringing job creation and positive news for our passengers and the region. It increases the number of destinations now available from the airport to over 70 domestic and international destinations, offering more choice than ever for travellers.

The new base at Belfast International reflects VINCI Airports’ commitment to Northern Ireland. Improving connectivity for the region is key for the aviation sector and economic growth. VINCI Airports and Ryanair have a strong partnership and Belfast now brings the total of bases across our European network to six.”