Ryanair has announced two significant passenger milestones at two Irish airports – Shannon and Kerry.
The airline has passed the 22 million passenger milestone at Shannon Airport since beginning operations there in 1987. Additionally, Ryanair has carried 7 million passengers through Kerry Airport since beginning operations there in 1989.
Last month, Ryanair announced a record Shannon schedule for Summer 2026, delivering 1.4 million seats across 30 routes, offering customers in the mid-west even more choice. To support this record Shannon schedule, Ryanair will base a fourth aircraft at Shannon for Summer 2026, representing a $400m investment from Ryanair in mid-west Ireland. This additional aircraft will deliver 180,000 additional seats, four new routes to Rome, Madrid, Warsaw, and Poznań, and extra flights on five existing popular routes to Alicante, Lanzarote, Manchester, Malta, and Reus.
Ryanair’s Director of Comms, Jade Kirwan, said: “We are delighted to mark 22 million Ryanair passengers through Shannon Airport since Ryanair began operations to/from Shannon in 1987. This significant milestone showcases Ryanair’s continued support and investment in the region, delivering important connectivity, traffic, tourism, jobs, and economic growth.
Meanwhile, this winter, Ryanair is operating 58 weekly flights across five routes to/from Kerry Airport, including top city break destinations like Frankfurt, Manchester, and London.
Ms Kirwan added: “We are pleased to mark 7 million Ryanair passengers through Kerry Airport since Ryanair began operations to/from Kerry in 1989. This significant milestone showcases Ryanair’s continued support and investment in the region, delivering important connectivity, traffic, tourism, jobs, and economic growth.
“This winter, Ryanair is operating a robust schedule to/from Kerry Airport with 58 weekly flights across 5 routes, including top city break destinations like Frankfurt, Manchester, and London.
“Ryanair wishes to continue to prioritise growth at Ireland’s regional airports – like Kerry Airport – however, the Irish Govt. needs to support regional airports by expanding the scope of the Regional Airports Programme 2026-30 to at least 3 million passengers per annum, which would allow regional airports to grow traffic without being penalised for doing so.”
