Low-cost airline Ryanair reveals further expansion at Liverpool John Lennon Airport with new routes and extra flights to existing destinations following the introduction of a sixth aircraft. Tony McDonough reports
Ryanair is continuing its expansion at Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) with new routes to Marrakech, Tirana, and Warsaw and expansion on existing services.
In December 2025 LBN revealed the Irish low-cost airline was to introduce a sixth aircraft at LJLA leading to 180 new direct jobs and supporting an estimated 2,000-plus jobs in the city region.
These new routes and changes all kick in for the winter season at LJLA. starting in October. Existing routes seeing extra flights added include Cork, Sofia, Szczecin, Kraków, Knock and Alicante.
Both Ryanair, and its main budget rival easyJet, have been expanding aggressively with new aircraft and routes. EasyJet now operates eight aircraft out of LJLA and more than 40 European routes.
Paul Winfield, director of aviation development for LJLA, said: “As part of continued Ryanair growth in Liverpool, we are delighted to welcome an increasing number of flights on popular destinations from this coming winter.”
However, when Ryanair announced the extra aircraft it also issued its now regular warning that Air Passenger Duty (APD) was holding back further expansion at Liverpool and other UK airports.
In an interview with LBN, Ryanair’s chief commercial officer Jason McGuinness, said the company’s investment at Liverpool could go even higher if the Government reduced or scrapped APD.
APD adds around £15 to the price of a short-haul fare to European destinations from LJLA. Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said recently: “For a family of four, it becomes prohibitive.”
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Each Ryanair aircraft at LJLA represents an investment of around £75m and directly supports 180 jobs, including flight crew and ground operations. Ryanair and LJLA claim around 2,000 jobs are supported in the wider visitor economy by each aircraft due to more visitors to the city
Jason told LBN that if it wasn’t for APD the number of aircraft based at Liverpool could rise to up to nine. Those extra three planes would represent an investment of £225m and support thousands more jobs.