Frankfurt expansion boosts airline’s presence

RYANAIR is to boost its presence in Germany with a major expansion at its base outside Frankfurt.

The company will base an extra 18 aircraft at Frankfurt-Hahn, which it said would be used to operate 50 routes carrying eight million passengers a year and supporting 8,000 jobs.

The expansion programme, which will be staggered between 2006 and 2012, will make Frankfurt-Hahn the airline’s second-biggest base after London Stansted, pushing Dublin into third place.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary used yesterday’s announcement to take a swipe at perceived delays by the Irish Government in building a second terminal at Dublin Airport and singled out the Taoiseach for special criticism.

“Bertie Ahern’s lamentable failure to deliver a second terminal at Dublin Airport - as promised in his agreed Programme for Government - means that Ireland has lost out yet again on a $1 billion (€850 million) aircraft investment, 8,000 new jobs and over 50 routes that Ryanair has repeatedly offered to base in Dublin,” said Mr O’Leary.

“Bertie Ahern’s broken promises and protection of an inefficient airport monopoly mean that Irish consumers and tourism continue to suffer higher costs and third world facilities while jobs, flights and passengers go elsewhere.”