Budget carrier Ryanair is set to introduce five new winter destinations from Newcastle Airport following its decision to station a third aircraft at the North East hub. The airline has unveiled a two-day promotional sale featuring fares starting from £29.99 to mark the expansion.
The $100m (£74m) commitment will generate approximately 40 new positions whilst supporting hundreds of additional roles. The extra capacity from the new aircraft will enable Ryanair to launch services to Brussels, Budapest, Gdańsk, Malta and Wrocław, alongside increasing frequency to Alicante, Dublin and Kraków.
Ryanair's expanded operations will deliver 120,000 additional seats annually and push its yearly passenger numbers at Newcastle beyond one million. However, the carrier also criticised the Government regarding air passenger duty increases, which it claims are constraining 海角视频 growth.
READ MORE: {}
Ryanair's chief commercial officer Jason McGuinness said: "We are delighted to announce this additional US$100m investment in Newcastle today. This third Boeing 737 8-200 'Gamechanger' based aircraft arriving in Winter will provide a huge economic boost to the North East – delivering 120,000 (+36%) additional seats and five new routes to Brussels, Budapest, Gdańsk, Malta, and Wrocław, as well as supporting over 850 local jobs including 30 local pilot and cabin crew jobs we're now hiring for.
"This Winter Ryanair will operate a record schedule at Newcastle that will deliver more than one million annual passengers thanks to the hard work of Newcastle Airport to remain competitive despite Labour's reckless decision to increase the regressive APD tax. As an island economy on the periphery of Europe, it is vital that 海角视频 airports particularly in the regions offer competitive access costs to airlines.", reports .
"The excessive 海角视频 APD tax imposes £13 on all 海角视频 citizens/visitors, making air travel from the 海角视频 uncompetitive, particularly when other European countries, like Sweden, Hungary and Italy, are lowering costs and cutting taxes to encourage rapid traffic and tourism growth. Conversely the 海角视频 Government has decided to further increase this tax by £2 (+15%) from April '26 costing 海角视频 regions jobs, tourism and economic growth.
"Ryanair calls on Rachel Reeves to scrap this penal tax and allow 海角视频 connectivity, employment and tourism to flourish. If the 海角视频 Government abolishes APD, Ryanair will respond with its ambitious growth plan for the 海角视频 to increase annual traffic by 27m (+50% to 80m pax p.a), base +30 additional aircraft (US$3bn investment), launch 200 routes (800 total) and create 20,000 jobs."
The development follows fellow budget carrier easyJet's announcement three months ago of establishing a new base at Newcastle Airport, generating hundreds of employment opportunities and introducing fresh destinations for North East travellers. The airport has recently unveiled its 2040 masterplan, outlining ambitions to nearly double passenger numbers to nine million annually whilst employing over 5,000 personnel.
Most Read
Newcastle Airport's chief operating officer, Richard Knight, said: "It's fantastic news that Ryanair have committed to further investment in the region with the addition of a third based aircraft at Newcastle Airport, bringing with it five exciting new Winter routes to Brussels, Budapest, Malta, Wroclaw and Gdansk for our passengers to enjoy. This expansion will deliver over one million passengers for Ryanair over the next 12 months, reflecting the strength of our partnership and the growing demand for connectivity from the North East to key European destinations.
"Brussels is a brand new connection for the airport's departure board and will provide great connectivity for both leisure and business passengers to the capital of Belgium. The addition of more winter flights to Budapest, Gdansk, Malta and Wroclaw will provide additional flight options for passengers looking to explore these popular destinations from the region."
A HM Treasury spokesperson said: “Unlike other sectors, no VAT applies to plane tickets and there is no tax on jet fuel while changes to the rate of Air Passenger Duty have significantly fallen behind inflation in recent years. These changes mean we maintain similar rates to France and Germany, and will add just £2 for a family of four flying economy to Spain with under 16’s exempt.”