Autumn for Ryanair growth plan

Ryanair will not increase its services from Cork or Kerry until next autumn, despite a rise in passenger numbers in the region.

It means that any announcement of growth at the two locations will come a year after the airline’s high- profile unveiling of a strengthening of services at the country’s other main airports. Ryanair is set to start the roll-out of its expanded services from Dublin, Shannon, and Knock in April, once the Government’s shelving of the consumer travel tax kicks in.

In the aftermath of last October’s budget announcement, when the Government announced the removal of the tax, Ryanair said it would grow its traffic through Irish airports by around 1m passengers per annum. Twenty new routes — to come on stream in the coming months — were announced at Dublin, Shannon, and Knock late last year.