Ryanair’s plans for Cork ‘modest’

Ryanair is unlikely to start any new routes from Cork until next September, with the airline saying yesterday that it will be harder to grow from there than from other Irish airports.

Speaking at the launch of the airline’s latest Irish-based expansion — nine new routes from Dublin Airport, creating 1,000 jobs and potentially delivering an additional 700,000 passengers per year — Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary said expansion talks are ongoing with Cork and Kerry airports, but that the airline’s additional growth at both will be relatively modest and not as immediate as at other centres.

Ryanair reacted to the Government’s budget pledge to scrap the consumer travel tax by saying it will grow its traffic through Irish airports by around one million passengers per year. Since the budget announcement, the airline has added eight new routes from Shannon and three at Knock. All, including the new ones at Dublin, will come on stream next spring/summer. Whatever is expanded at Cork, however, is unlikely to technically begin until next September.