Ryanair announced its London Stansted Summer 2025 schedule on January 29, introducing seven new to Bodrum, Clermont-Ferrand, Dalaman, Münster, Lübeck, Linz, and Reggio Calabria, along with extra frequencies on 30 existing routes.
To support its expansion, Ryanair will base an additional Boeing 737 in London Stansted, marking a $100m investment that will increase its London-based fleet to 56 aircraft and create 30 new jobs.
Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, criticised the Westminster government’s increased Air Passenger Duty (APD) tax of £2 per passenger, arguing it hurts regional connectivity and tourism while making England and Scotland less competitive in comparison to countries reducing aviation taxes.
O’Leary urged Labour Party finance minister Rachel Reeves to eliminate the APD tax, suggesting that doing so would drive immediate growth in air travel and economic activity across England and Scotland, particularly benefiting regional airports.
Mr O’Leary shared: “We are pleased to announce 7 new Summer 2025 routes from London to Bodrum, Clermont-Ferrand, Dalaman, Münster, Lübeck, Linz, and Reggio Calabria. We are also launching extra frequencies on 30 other London routes to exciting destinations like Gdansk, Ibiza, Malaga, and Rome.
Ryanair could be growing more rapidly to/from England, but Rachel Reeves bizarre decision to raise APD taxes by £2 per passenger damages the growth prospects of England, and in particular regional airports. Rachel Reeves is trying to distract people by floating a third runway at Heathrow (or a second at Gatwick), which even if approved, won’t arrive for 10 or 20 years, long after the life of this Labour Govt. If she is serious about delivering growth, then she should abolish the penal and damaging APD tax, which makes England uncompetitive when EU countries like Sweden, Hungary, Ireland, and regions in Italy are abolishing aviation taxes, and winning dramatic traffic, tourism, and jobs growth from England.
If Rachel Reeves is serious about growth, then stop wasting time talking about a third runway at Heathrow (which won’t deliver till 2030 or 2040), and instead do something useful to drive growth during the life of the current Labour Govt and abolish APD. This would deliver dramatic investment and growth in air travel, tourism, and economic activity, not just in London but across the regions. Sadly to date, the Labour Govt has raised taxes while it rewarded train drivers and junior doctors, but damages economic activity and growth with this APD tax hike.”
