Shannon Airport anticipates an increase of 100,000 passengers this winter as a result of a decision by Ryanairto base a fourth aircraft at the airport.
Ryanair is set to invest €87m in new routes to Madrid, Madeira, and Lapland, along with increased flight frequencies on six existing routes
Chief Executive Mary Considine expressed that the investment provides increased choice for passengers and strengthens the airport’s role as “a key gateway to and from the west of Ireland”.
Ryanair’s Chief Commercial Officer Jason McGuinness indicated that this investment will contribute to a 20pc rise in passenger volume to and from Shannon. Mr McGuinness called on the Government to address the cap on flights into and out of Dublin Airport.
Ms Considine called on the Government to expedite the review of the Regional Airports Programme, advocating for an increased passenger threshold for State aid.
Mary Considine shared “the investment provides increased choice for passengers and strengthens the airport’s role as ‘a key gateway to and from the west of Ireland’. The existing cap of one million passengers for such supports should be extended to three million.”
Ryanair’s further expansion at Shannon Airport with the addition of a fourth based aircraft seeing three exciting new Winter ‘25 services from Shannon Airport to Madrid, Rovaniemi (Lapland), and Madeira,. This expansion offers even greater choice for our passengers and strengthens Shannon’s position as a key gateway to and from the West of Ireland.
Ryanair’s investment is a powerful endorsement of the potential of Shannon, a vote of confidence in the market here, and a testament to the progress we’ve made growing passenger numbers. We’re very ambitious for the airport and the Group. We see a huge potential for growth and believe there is a real opportunity for Shannon Airport to lead the way in rebalancing the national landscape. A new aviation policy that recognises and supports the strategic importance of Shannon Airport to the country’s economy is now required.”
Jason McGuinness shared: “this is another milestone for our Shannon base this Winter as the Airport welcomes a fourth Ryanair based aircraft. This new B737 MAX aircraft will deliver 100,000 (+20pc) additional passengers and 3 new routes to Lapland, Madeira, and Madrid. In addition to these exciting new routes, Ryanair will also add extra flights on 6 popular Shannon routes – Alicante, Edinburgh, Kraków, Lanzarote, Manchester, and Wrocław.
Ryanair’s US$400m investment in the mid-west underpins our commitment to growing Ireland’s regional airports evidenced by the 20 routes and more than 1.6m passengers we will deliver to Shannon Airport this year – driving inbound tourism to the region and supporting year-round international connectivity. Ryanair wants to continue to prioritise Shannon, Knock and Kerry for growth, however, the Irish Government needs to support these regional airports by expanding the scope of the Regional Airports Programme 2026-30 to at least 3m passengers which would allow regional airports to grow traffic without being penalised for doing so.”
