Low cost airline Ryanair offers four new routes out of Liverpool in £80m investment that will see overall capacity increase by 15% and create 30 new jobs. Tony McDonough reports
Ryanair is offering four new European routes out of Liverpool this summer in a new investment worth £80m.
On Wednesday, the low cost airline said it would increase overall capacity out of Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) by 15% in the summer months to 255 weekly flights. It will take the total number of routes to 31 and will see a new aircraft based at LJLA.
This investment also includes the creation of 30 new jobs out of Liverpool. They will include both pilots and cabin crew.
Ryanair’s four new summer routes out of Liverpool will be to Ibiza, Madrid, Rome Ciampino and Shannon in Ireland. There will be one weekly return flight to Ibiza, three to Madrid and two each weekly to Rome and Shannon.
And there will be increased frequency on seven existing routes – Alicante, Cork, Dublin, Knock, Paris, Reus in Spain and Tenerife.
To mark the announcement Ryanair is offering fares from £29.99 for travel between April and October. Bookings must be made by midnight on February 3.
In an interview with LBN, Dara Brady director of marketing, communications and digital, at Ryanair, said the carrier’s strong relationship with Liverpool Airport was key to its continued growth here.
“What has really driven our investment at Liverpool Airport is the great relationship we have with them,” said Dara. “We work with the people at the airport very closely and we have a really good deal with them.”
On the new routes, he added: “We operate out of 42 countries and we get a really good sense of what works and what doesn’t. For example, we know that city breaks to places such as Madrid are always going to be popular.
“Also there is a big connection between Liverpool and Ireland – some very strong family relationships. The new route to Shannon really opens up the opportunities to travel to that part of Ireland.”
Dara also welcomed the Government’s decision to halve Air Passenger Duty (APD) on UK domestic flights from April. But he said Ryanair was calling on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to go further and abolish APD altogether.
“If we are to continue to grow and to drive recovery and connectivity to the UK, Prime Minister Sunak must immediately scrap APD in full for all travel, not just domestic travel, and provide incentives for airlines such Ryanair to stimulate growth and recovery for the UK and its regions, such as Liverpool.”
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Paul Winfield, director of aviation development for Liverpool John Lennon Airport, added: “We are delighted to welcome these new services from Ryanair for summer 2023, giving passengers from across the North West and North Wales a wider range of destinations.
“The addition of a fourth based aircraft in Liverpool for summer 2023 is a sign of Ryanair’s confidence in the market from Liverpool and we look forward to expanding our range of destinations with the carrier in the future.”