Budget airline announces major expansion at Bristol Airport
Budget airline Ryanair has announced a major expansion at Bristol Airport.
The multi-million pound investment will see the launch of six new routes and an increase in the number of Ryanair passengers to 2.1m a year.
The new routes are to Copenhagen, Fuerteventura, Marrakesh, Prague, Sofia, and Tirana.
This summer the airline will have five aircraft based at the airport representing a $500 million investment in Bristol.
The hub will support over 1,400 local jobs, including 150 high paid pilot, cabin crew and engineer roles.
Two of Ryanair’s Bristol-based aircraft are “Gamechangers” which are highly sought by airports throughout Europe as they reduce CO2 emission by 16% and noise emissions by 40%.
Ryanair’s head of communications Jade Kirwan, said: “We’re delighted to officially launch Ryanair’s biggest ever schedule for Bristol this summer with 36 routes, including six exciting new routes to Copenhagen, Fuerteventura, Marrakesh, Prague, Sofia, and Tirana, offering our customers in the South West even more choice at the lowest fares.
“Our first summer 24 flights to Copenhagen, Marrakesh, Sofia, and Tirana took off just last week, performing phenomenally well, and we look forward to carrying more passengers onboard our first flights to Fuerteventura and Prague when they commence this July.”
Bristol Airport’s chief executive Dave Lees, said: “We are delighted with Ryanair’s announcement increasing the 2024 flight programme to its largest ever schedule from Bristol Airport, it is a clear demonstration of confidence in the region for air travel.
“Expanding Ryanair’s route network and adding new routes including to Tirana, Albania, offers customers a wider choice of destinations and flexibility of stay lengths, without the need to travel to other airports for their flights.
“We very much welcome the deployment of the more efficient ‘Gamechanger’ aircraft from Bristol Airport and look forward to working with Ryanair on developing their route network and ensuring the increased use of quieter aircraft and more environmentally efficient operations in the future.”
