Ryanair marks 40 years serving Ireland West Airport Knock

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary arrived at Ireland West Airport Knock wearing a Mayo jersey to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the airport and the airline’s long partnership. Ryanair began flying from the airport in December 1986.

He praised the visionary founder Monsignor James Horan and stated that passenger numbers could grow to one and a half million with continued Government support through the Regional Airport Support Scheme.

Ryanair flew a special Boeing 737 into Ireland West Airport Knock to mark forty years of commercial operations at the airport. Over this period Ryanair has carried 12m passengers to and from the facility, establishing it as the leading low fares gateway to the west of Ireland and one of the fastest growing airports in Europe since the Covid pandemic.

In 2026 the airport will welcome over one million passengers for the first time. This represents a 40pc increase on pre Covid volumes of seven hundred thousand, and accounts for 95pc of the airport’s total traffic. The airline will operate 17 routes this summer, with eight to England and nine to Europe.

Michael O’Leary shared, “Having Ryanair in Knock Airport is far better than any Sam Maguire. Mayo may have been cursed on the football fields for the last fifty years, but thanks to Knock Airport and Ryanair, it continues to be the champion for low fare air access and tourism growth in the West of Ireland. With over one million passengers in 2026, and seventeen routes to England and Europe, Ryanair and Knock Airport continue to work closely together to deliver low fare traffic and tourism growth for the West of Ireland.”

Joe Gilmore, Managing Director of Ireland West Airport Knock, shared, “We would like to welcome Michael to the airport to mark the 40th anniversary, to recognise the long term business relationship the airport has had with Ryanair since their first service departed the airport in December 1986. This relationship continues to be strong today with the airline serving seventeen destinations from the airport, and last year celebrated the wonderful milestone of carrying their twelve millionth passenger through the airport. This summer Ryanair will operate their biggest ever schedule from the airport and we look forward to continuing this strong partnership and to growing our network of routes and services with Ryanair in the future.”