Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair is looking forward to a spectacular summer in 2023. The airline, which is boosting its Dublin cabin-crew number through the hiring of 200 staff, is preparing for a record number of connections from its home Irish airports. Let's take a look at what the airline has in store for each of the major Irish airports.

A breakdown of new routes by airport

As Irish passengers are getting somewhat back to 2019 levels, Ryanair is offering more destinations to more passengers. At the peak of the summer ‘19 season, Ryanair reported an impressive 13.8 million passengers flown that August. In 2022, the low-cost airline reported 11.1 million passengers. The numbers are growing, but summer ‘23 might be the biggest yet for Ryanair.

To accommodate such demand, Ryanair has added new flights from Dublin (DUB) to Kos (KGS) and Brindisi (BDS). They also added Genoa (GOA) in a recent announcement. CEO of Ryanair, Eddie Wilson, said:

“With Summer 23 fast approaching, we are delighted to be bringing even more choice and value to our Irish customers with the addition of these new routes to Kos and Brindisi as part of our Summer 23 schedule. Ryanair is offering Dublin customers the lowest priced fares and even more choice when planning their long-awaited summer holidays.”

From Shannon (SNN), Ryanair has added new routes such as Naples, Porto, Beziers, Newcastle, and Liverpool. In total, Shannon has secured 32 new routes across all of its airlines for next summer. However, 27 of these new routes will be operated by Ryanair - one of the largest airlines established in the Irish airport.

Another boost for Shannon is that Ryanair is planning to base three of its Boeing 737s at the airport. Ryanair also says that it plans to invest $300 million in the airport, to support a 35% capacity growth and 880 jobs, including almost 300 direct positions.

Ryanair’s Dara Brady said:

“With Easter and Summer ’23 fast approaching, we are delighted to be bringing even more choice and value to our customers in the midwest of the country with the addition of a further 2 new routes – Naples and Porto – to our Summer ‘23 schedule for Shannon, delivering over 180 weekly flights across an unbeatable selection of 26 exciting must-see sunny hotspots and vibrant city break destinations across Europe.”

From Ireland West (Knock) Airport (NOC), Ryanair has unveiled a brand new route to Lanzarote. Previously, the airline offered 15 destinations from Ireland West, but in Summer 23 it will offer 17. Ryanair is a significant stakeholder in Ireland West Knock, operating regular services to destinations in Spain and the UK. Ryanair also announced an increase in services to Birmingham, Bristol, East Midlands, and Manchester from Knock.

On to Cork (ORK), where Ryanair will operate its biggest summer schedule ever from the airport, with 29 routes in total, including five brand new services. These will connect the airport to La Rochelle, Rome, Seville, Venice Treviso, and East Midlands. Ryanair is also planning an increase in its current services to Alicante (four flights per week) Faro (eight flights per week), Liverpool (six flights per week) and Palma (five flights per week).

In a statement, Ryanair said:

“Ryanair remains committed to growing traffic and increasing connectivity to regional economies, as displayed by Ryanair’s impressive growth that will ensure Cork becomes the first Irish state airport to fully restore pre-pandemic traffic levels.

"The further 20% growth that Ryanair will deliver to Cork next summer is driven by Cork Airport’s long-term commitment to maintain competitive airport charges, providing the cost certainty for airlines to invest and grow in the region. Regional development must be underpinned by competitive costs, which has ensured that Cork has secured airline capacity that could have easily gone elsewhere in Europe.”

Now we move to Belfast, where in 2021, Ryanair threatened to pull out of the airport. Now, the carrier has added new routes to Budapest, Cardiff, Mallorca, and Valencia.

With all of these new routes, it is undoubtedly clear that Ryanair is planning for a massive summer 2023 for its Irish customers, offering record connectivity from its home airports..

New cabin crew

With all of these added routes across the island, more crew are going to be needed to help operate all the airline's planned flights. To tackle this, Ryanair is looking to hire an extra 200 staff for its Irish operations. Earlier last week, the airline announced a recruitment drive that will be held at Dublin Airport. The new cabin crew will receive the necessary training needed to operate flights throughout Europe. Successful candidates will have the privilege of flying all throughout Europe.

Another company hiring more staff in Ireland is Dublin Airport's operator, Dublin Airport Authority (DAA), which is hiring airport security personnel to help deal with the increased influx of passengers during the summer holiday season. A total of 28.1 million passengers traveled through Ireland's biggest airport in 2022, and 2023 is expected to exceed this number substantially.

Alongside the huge numbers of passengers, Dublin Airport was faced with a crisis, one that was common with almost every major airport in the world: security times. The waiting times were so bad, special holding areas were installed for passengers who arrived too early for their flight. The DAA does not want a return to this next summer.

What do you think about the massive summer schedule planned by Ryanair from Ireland? Are you planning on flying with the airline this year? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: Irish Times, Irish Independent.