Ryanair has urged the new Government to widen the existing traffic cap on regional airports to 3 million passengers per year to allow them to grow.
The airline made the call on the back of announcing increased services at Shannon Airport for this year’s summer season.
It said the current Regional Airports Programme – which has a 1 million per year passenger cap in place at regional airports – is unfairly limiting these airports’ growth chances.
Ryanair’s Summer 2025 Shannon Airport schedule will see the airline add a new route to Madeira and increase frequency on eight existing routes from the airport.
Ryanair’s Chief Marketing Officer, Dara Brady said: “The vast majority of this exciting Summer 2025 schedule will operate on Ryanair’s three Shannon-based aircraft and will support over 1,500 local jobs, demonstrating Ryanair’s continued commitment to invest and grow at Ireland’s regional airports. We call on the new Irish Government to help airlines, like Ryanair, to continue to grow at regional airports by expanding the scope for the 2026-2030 Regional Airports Programme to at least 3 million passengers per annum, which would allow regional airports to grow traffic without being penalised for doing so.“
The Shannon Airport Group’s CEO, Mary Considine, said: “We welcomed over 2.1 million passengers at Shannon Airport last year. With the right policies and support, we can achieve even more and are encouraged by the draft National Programme for Government’s commitment to maximising the use of regional airports. We are proud to support Ryanair in connecting communities, bolstering the regional economy, and enhancing travel experiences. We look forward to continuing our collaboration and achieving further milestones.”
