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Ryanair's Irish routes 'will run behind' where they were in 2019

Ryanair says its winter routes from Ireland will be 'running behind' where they were in 2019. The...
Jack Quann
Jack Quann

20.20 9 Sep 2021


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Ryanair's Irish routes 'will r...

Ryanair's Irish routes 'will run behind' where they were in 2019

Jack Quann
Jack Quann

20.20 9 Sep 2021


Share this article


Ryanair says its winter routes from Ireland will be 'running behind' where they were in 2019.

The carrier says the Irish market is still recovering slower than its other European destinations.

Dara Brady, marketing director for Ryanair, told The Hard Shoulder the Government needs to do more.

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"On a European basis it's very different to Ireland here.

"I think we've been very vocal... we have been saying for quite a while that we think the Irish Government is behind the ball here.

"Many, many other European countries are putting incentive schemes in place to drive recovery.

"We're probably only running at about between 60 and 70% of recovery in Ireland, where we're running at - for example - over 100% in Italy.

"So our winter schedules are going to be still running behind where we would have been in 2019 in Ireland.

"We really need to see some action from Minister [Eamon] Ryan, in particular, in terms of actioning the recommendations from the Aviation Taskforce report that's sitting on his desk.

"We think that if the Government was to push on and to incentivise tourism recovery here, that our growth would be far greater".

Schedules 'heading for 90%'

The airline says it carried 11 million passengers in August - up from nine million in July, and double what it carried in June.

And Mr Brady says the recovery is going strong.

"We're probably about 75/80% of the way back in terms of the recovery.

"In terms of our schedules, on a European basis, we're looking towards heading for 90%".

He says while the company's load factor is down in August, at around 82%, it is "starting to rise and build nicely".

And he says they are noticing a change in destination preferences.

"Certainly throughout the summer period, we had very strong demand for your typical [destinations]: your Faros, your Alicantes, your Malagas.

"But as we've moved into September, and schools have gone back, we're certainly seeing weekend breaks pick up."

Main image: A Ryanair plane is seen on the runway at Greece's Thessaloniki International Airport in 2018. Picture by: Nicolas Economou/Zuma Press/PA ImagesĀ 

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Aviation Recovery Dara Brady EU European Destinations Ireland Recovery Ryanair Winter Routes

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