Low cost airline Ryanair has added 24 new routes to its summer 2022 schedule which includes new European destinations from Liverpool. Tony McDonough reports
Ryanair has unveiled its summer 2022 schedule which included two new routes out of Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA).
In July, the Irish carrier’s director of commercial, Jason McGuinness, told LBN it was to begin 10 new European routes out of Liverpool, taking its total to more than 30. In early November five new routes took off from LJLA.
All operating twice-weekly the new routes were to Milan Bergamo in Italy, Paris Beauvais in France, Stockholm Arlanda in Sweden, Tallinn in Estonia and Sibiu in Romania. Ryanair will operate 28 routes from Liverpool through the winter.
Now the Dublin-based carrier has announced a further 24 new routes across its European network, two of which will operates from Liverpool. They are to Brussels Charleroi in Belgium and the city of Zadar in Croatia. It will take the airline’s total number of routes from Liverpool to 37.
Located on the Dalmatian coast, Zadar is known for the Roman and Venetian ruins of its peninsular Old Town. There are several Venetian gates in the city walls. Surrounding the Roman-era Forum is 11th-century St. Mary’s Convent. There’s also the 12th-century St Anastasia’s Cathedral. Flights will be twice-weekly from the end of March.
The Brussels service, which will operate on Thursdays and Sundays, means there are now direct flights from Liverpool to 17 capital cities across Europe. This latest addition will be the airport’s first route to the Belgian capital in 10 years.
Paul Winfield, LJLA’s director of aviation development, said: “This year alone Ryanair has announced nine new routes from Liverpool. These latest additions to their Liverpool route network highlight Ryanair’s confidence in a continued, growing demand for air travel once again.”
Ryanair has emerged from the pandemic with a bullish approach and is planning a major investment in capacity and jobs over the next five years. It is also adding 65 new Boeing 737 Max aircraft, which the carrier described as a ‘gamechanger’.
They offer 4% more seats, 16% less fuel consumption and a 40% reduction in noise emissions. However, there has been a significant delay in the planes coming into service. Regulators in the US grounded aircraft in March 2019 following two separate crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia which killed 346 people.
Now it has been cleared to fly again and, in December last year, Ryanair announced it was buying 210 737 Max planes at a total value of £16.3bn. It has secured the extra 75 jets at a bargain price of £94m each.They will be delivered over a four-year period from spring 2021 to December 2024.
Speaking after the latest announcement, Jason McGuiness said: “Following two summers of on and off again travel restrictions, our UK customers now have 24 new routes to choose from when booking their long-awaited summer 2022 holidays.
“To celebrate, we have launched a limited-time seat sale with fares from just £29.99 for travel until the end of October 2022, which must be booked by midnight on Thursday, November 25.”