RYANAIR has announced the addition of a new “game-changer” aircraft at Shannon Airport, which will facilitate a 20% increase in passenger traffic.
The Shannon Airport group is welcoming a fourth aircraft based at Shannon and new routes to Lapland, Madrid and the extension of the existing Madeira route into the winter schedule.
Additional flights on six existing routes have also been announced to Alicante, Edinburgh, Krakow, Lanzarote, Manchester and Wroclaw.
The new schedule will see a 20% growth in traffic for Shannon Airport, attracting over 100,000 additional passengers and supporting 1,500 local jobs, including pilots, cabin crew and engineering positions.
Speaking to the Limerick Post, Mary Considine, CEO of Shannon Airport Group said that they are “delighted to welcome Ryanair’s further expansion at Shannon Airport, and this expansion offers even greater choice for our passengers and strengthens Shannon’s position as a key gateway to and from the West of Ireland.”
Ms Considine is encouraging people to support Shannon Airport by availing of these routes to “enable the airport to continue to grow and provide more services.”
Ryanair’s Chief Commercial Officer, Jason McGuinness commented that that this €350 million investment in the Mid-West underpins the airlines “commitment to growing Ireland’s regional airports, evidenced by the 20 routes and more than 1.6m passengers that Ryanair will deliver to Shannon Airport this year, driving inbound tourism to the region and supporting year-round international connectivity.”
Calls are also being made for the government to expand the scope of the Regional Airports Programme 2026-30 to include Shannon Airport.
The new initiative aims to support and invest in regional airports to contribute to more balanced regional development and economic growth in Ireland.
Speaking at the Ryanair announcement at Shannon Airport on Wednesday, Ms Considine urged the government to ‘accelerate’ these plans under the programme.
“Ryanair’s investment is a powerful endorsement of the potential of Shannon, a vote of confidence in the market here, and a testament to the progress we’ve made growing passenger numbers. We’re very ambitious for the airport and the Group. We see a huge potential for growth and believe there is a real opportunity for Shannon Airport to lead the way in rebalancing the national landscape. A new aviation policy that recognises and supports the strategic importance of Shannon Airport to the country’s economy is now required.”
Mr McGuinness also called for the inclusion of Shannon Airport under the programme, and expand it to allow at least 3m passengers per annum, which would allow regional airports to grow traffic without being penalised for doing so.
Shannon Airport welcomed over 60,000 passengers over the June Bank Holiday Weekend, one of it’s busiest bank holiday weekends ever.
The jump marked an increase of nine per cent on the same period in 2024.
With 36 services in operation, passengers are jetting off to  the much anticipated, recently returned Delta and United Airlines seasonal flights to New York-JFK and Chicago, with over 325,000 seats now available across five transatlantic routes until September, including Aer Lingus’ year-round daily flight to Boston.
TUI’s weekly services to Barcelona-Reus, Lanzarote and most recently, Palma de Mallorca, are also in full swing for the summer, with holiday packages on offer from Shannon. The new service to Palma runs weekly and provides an additional 6,800 seats from the airport across the summer season.
Meanwhile, inbound tourists will be using Shannon Airport as a gateway to the west coast, combining the rural beauty of the Wild Atlantic Way with vibrant city breaks for the ultimate Irish experience.
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