Ryanair’s off-and-on relationship with Belfast and its airport continue, with the airline planning to open a base at Belfast International Airport for the Summer 2023 season.
Ryanair will start with 12 routes from Belfast International, operating over 115 weekly flights from the airport. Destinations it plans to operate flights include:
- Alicante
- Faro
- Barcelona-Girona
- Malaga
- East-Midlands
- Edinburgh
- London-Stansted
- Manchester
Ryanair’s Belfast-based fleet will comprise 2 aircraft, representing a $200m investment and over 60 highly paid aviation jobs at Belfast International Airport and over 650 indirect jobs.
The airline goes on to note the unfairness of Air Passenger Duty – but it’s a fact of life at this time (even though UK Domestic APD cut is due to kick in during April 23).
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.”
Off and On again
Ryanair’s relationship has always been off and on, mostly down to the fees that are being charged and the mood of the airline, with them serving both of the Belfast region airports (as well as having their home base of Dublin under 100miles by car in distance away).
It seems the airline is again interested in the area, basing two aircraft at Belfast International Airport (itself a good bus ride/taxi ride) away from the City Centre and Europa Bus Station.
For passengers, it offers a further choice – which is never a bad thing as we all know.
Ryanair will also have competition too, with it competing with easyJet, Jet2 and TUI on some of the routes.
Summer 23 out of Belfast could be very interesting.
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