Derry ‘fourth of fifth’ in race to become eighth Ryanair MRO facility as Poland takes the lead

CFM facility at Pennyburn Industrial Estate in Derry under consideration
Poland the front runner among contenders in the Baltic states, Italy, Portugal and Spain.
Ryanair has developed an aircraft maintenance base in Wrocław.
The airline has started construction of a third hangar at the site.
This brings the total to seven maintenance bays for heavy maintenance.
Poland stays under consideration for one of two planned engine MRO shops.
Ryanair targets opening the first engine facility before the end of 2028.
The airline has signed agreements with CFM to support spare parts and services until the new facilities become operational.

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has stated that the Derry area was ranked “number four or five” among six competing sites to become the airline’s eighth engine Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) base, which could create up to 600 jobs.

Poland has emerged as the front runne for Ryanair’s next engine MRO centre to be announced in June. Poland already operates an established aircraft maintenance base in Wrocław and the ailrine has announced plans to open two new engine MRO shops in Europe by 2029 to manage engine maintenance directly, reducing reliance on third parties.

The airline has already developed Wrocław Aircraft Maintenance Services as its heavy maintenance facility in the country where construction of a third hangar has started. This addition brings three more maintenance bays and increases total capacity to seven bays for heavy maintenance work on its Boeing 737 fleet.

The Derry project is also in advanced discussions but faces competition from sites in Spain and eastern Europe. Officials from Stormont’s economy committee confirmed in late March 2026 that workshops are ongoing to finalise the detail required to justify the investment.

Ryanair has made several visits to the north to evaluate the skill sets available at local colleges. Discussions are ongoing between the airline and local officials, with potential support from the NI Enhanced Investment Zone initiative. This follows a February 2026 agreement with CFM for a multi-year engine material services deal, allowing Ryanair to bring more maintenance in-house, using the CFM (Combined Facilities Management) West Depot located in the Pennyburn Industrial Estate in Derry.

While the engine facility remains under negotiation, Ryanair recently confirmed a £40m expansion of its existing heavy maintenance base at Glasgow Prestwick (March 2026), creating 450 jobs and making it their largest heavy maintenance hangar. This highlights the airline’s active push to bring 100pc of its maintenance in-house to support its goal of a 800-aircraft fleet by 2034.

Ryanair aims to open the eighth engine MRO facility before the end of 2028 and the ninth in 2029 with each site expected to handle around 150 engines per year and employ approximately 600 staff. It is the latest part of the airline’s active push to bring 100pc of its maintenance in-house to support its goal of a 800-aircraft fleet by 2034.

Michael O’Leary shared “We are assessing locations for the two new engine MRO facilities with the aim to announce the first one around the end of June.”

Existing MRO & line maintenance facilities:

Austria: Vienna, line maintenance base
England: London Stansted, line maintenance base
Germany: Frankfurt-Hahn, heavy maintenance bay.
Germany: Nuremberg, line maintenance base
Ireland: Dublin, new 4-bay hangar under construction
Ireland: Shannon, opened in 2022, a 3-bay heavy maintenance facility.
Italy: Milan Bergamo, line maintenance base.
Jordan: Amman, Ryanair uses external heavy maintenance services with Joramco in Amman
Lithuania: Kaunas, heavy maintenance bay.
Poland: Wroclaw, heavy maintenance bay.
Portugal: Porto, line maintenance base
Scotland: Glasgow-Prestwick, includes a heavy maintenance facility and engineering academy.
Spain: Madrid, the largest facility in the network (opened March 2026), featuring 8 total maintenance lines.
Spain: Seville, a modern 5-bay facility.