- Ryanair plans to double Baltic passenger numbers by 2031
- Targets 11m annual seats across Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania
- Plans to base 16 aircraft in region up from seven
- Will cut winter capacity by 25pc in Lithuania and Estonia
- Adding winter flights on 10 Riga routes
Ryanair has revealed plans to double passenger numbers in the Baltic region over the next five years seeking to capitalise on airBaltic’s retrenchment and bankruptcy protection filing. The plans by Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers come days after the Latvian carrier became the first European airline to file for bankruptcy as a result of fallout from the Iran conflict. Ryanair stated it aims to provide 11m annual seats across Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania by 2031 and base 16 aircraft in the region up from seven currently.
AirBaltic stated in August it planned to reduce its fleet to 36 aircraft by the end of 2026 from 54 with a target of about 40 aircraft by 2031 down from a previous goal of 100. Ryanair’s planned expansion forms part of its broader strategy to increase annual passenger traffic to 300m by 2034 from 208m in the year to the end of March 2026 as it takes delivery of 300 Boeing 737 MAX 10 aircraft from 2027.
The airline stated that in the near term it would add winter flights on 10 Riga routes to locations including Milan, Alicante and Barcelona after a reduction in airport charges. However it will cut winter capacity by 25pc in Lithuania and Estonia following increases in airport charges there and redeploy that capacity to more competitive countries such as Slovakia, Poland, Italy and Sweden.
Jason McGuinness, Chief Commercial Officer at Ryanair, shared: “This proposal is even more important following airBaltic’s announcement that it will shrink its fleet by one-third.”
