Ryanair has opened a new base at Madeira Airport with two based aircraft, their fifth base in Portugal. The new base will connect Madeira with mainland Portugal and six other European countries. The carrier also published their UK summer 2022 schedule with 24 new routes.
On Tuesday (November 23, 2021), Ryanair announced the opening of their fifth base in Portugal at Madeira Airport. Madeira will have two based aircraft, representing a $200 million investment, and will support 60 direct jobs. The new base connects Madeira with mainland Portugal and six other European countries, and will offer over 40 weekly departures, including 10 new routes and five exclusive routes, more than any other airline. For summer 2022, Ryanair will operate over 160 Portuguese routes. To celebrate the opening of the new base, Ryanair has launched a seat sale with fares from only €29.99 for next summer.
In Tuesday’s announcement, Ryanair’s CEO, Eddie Wilson, said in part,
“We are delighted to announce the opening of our new base in Madeira, which will deliver increased connectivity with 2 based aircraft and 40 weekly flights across 10 new routes, connecting Madeira with cities such as London, Paris, Dublin, Milan and Manchester on a year round basis. This $200m investment will not only boost Portugal’s economy by driving vital tourism but will also create more than 60 direct jobs in the region and over 400 on-site jobs in Madeira.
“Efficient operations and competitive airport charges provide the foundation from which Ryanair can deliver long-term traffic growth and increased connectivity. We worked closely with our partners in Madeira airport, Tourism de Portugal and APM to secure this growth and improve the services for those that live, work, or wish to visit the region.
“At a time when other airlines are reducing their fleets and closing bases, we are delighted to continue to invest in both our people and airports in Portugal. We urge the Portuguese Govt. to do likewise by opening Lisbon-Montijo, scrapping the ill-timed aviation tax (which is a direct tax on tourism) and introducing a non-discriminatory traffic recovery scheme...
“...Ryanair will operate over 160 Portuguese routes next Summer (over twice as many as TAP), to 15 countries, making Ryanair Portugal’s number one carrier for choice, fares and on time performance. To celebrate, we are launching a seat sale with fares available from €29.99 for travel next Summer, which must be booked by Thursday 25th November. Since these amazing low fares will be snapped up quickly, customers should log onto www.ryanair.com now to avoid missing out.”
Also commenting on the opening of the new Madeira base, ANA- VINCI Airports’ CEO, Thierry Ligonnière, said,
“The announcement of Ryanair’s base in Madeira for the summer of 2022 is excellent news for the Autonomous Region of Madeira. This base is the result of a partnership with Ryanair, the Madeira Tourism Promotion Association and the Portuguese Tourism Board. In addition to reinforcing the existing partnership between VINCI and Ryanair, this base will allow, through the opening of 5 new routes in 2022, a significant increase in Madeira’s connectivity, boosting the diversification of tourist markets, so important for the recovery and growth of tourism in the region.”
In a separate press release on Tuesday (November 23, 2021), Ryanair announced their highly anticipated summer 2022 UK schedule with over 500 routes, including 24 new routes. UK holidaymakers will enjoy service to sunny hotspots such as Chania, Madeira and Menorca with fares from £29.99.
In Tuesday’s summer 2022 UK schedule announcement, Ryanair’s Director of Commercial, Jason McGuinness, said,
“We are pleased to announce our UK S’22 schedule offering our customers even more amazing European destinations. 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 S’22 holidays. Whether planning a relaxing family getaway to the picturesque surroundings of Chania, an adventurous trip to the mountain hike trails of Madeira or a romantic city break to Milan, our S’22 schedule will not disappoint.
“To celebrate, we have launched a limited-time seat sale with fares from just £29.99 for travel until the end of October ‘22, which must be booked by midnight Thursday, 25 November. With air fares set to increase by S’22 due to reduced capacity, we are encouraging our customers to book early and avail of these lower fares available only on Ryanair.com.”
Ryanair Holdings, plc is Europe’s largest airline conglomerate and the parent company of Buzz, Lauda, Malta Air, and Ryanair DAC. The airline usually carries over 154 million passengers annually with over 2,500 daily departures. Ryanair typically serves over 200 destinations in 40 countries with a fleet of over 400 Boeing 737 Family aircraft and 20 Airbus A320s. Currently, the low-cost carrier has an additional 210 Boeing 737-8200s on order. Ryanair has maintained a stellar safety record for over 35 years and prides itself on being “Europe’s greenest cleanest airline group,” promising customers a reduction in CO2 emissions of up to 50%, versus the “Big 4 EU major airlines.”
Source: Ryanair