Ryanair's €50m aircraft maintenance facility at Shannon gets planning green light

The new hangar will include a new Ryanair Engineering Academy

Neal McMahon, COO Ryanair, Enterprise minister Peter Burke, Shannon Airport CEO Ray O'Driscoll, Enterprise Ireland CEO, Jenny Melia and Eddie Wilson, CEO Ryanair at Shannon Airport. Ryanair has received planning approval for a major expansion of its engineering operations at the airport. Picture: Arthur Ellis

Thu, 22 Oct, 2026 - 12:40

Martin Claffey

Construction on Ryanair's new €50m aircraft maintenance facility at Shannon Airport will begin next year after the project was granted planning permission by Clare County Council on Thursday.

The 6.7-acre site on the airfield at Shannon Airport will see a new four-bay aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) hangar built. The new hangar will include a new Ryanair Engineering Academy, which will see the creation of 80 new apprenticeship roles and support the training of over 400 additional aircraft mechanics between 2027 and 2031.

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The project was first announced in July. Earlier this month, Ryanair had warned that it would relocate the entire project to Poland if planning could not be approved on time, with chief operating officer Neal McMahon saying that the airline "will not accept planning delays or bureaucracy". On Thursday, Mr McMahon welcomed Clare County Council’s decision. "Ryanair has invested heavily in Shannon for many years and this investment marks the next phase of that growth.

"We look forward to commencing construction early next year and delivering this major investment for Shannon as quickly as possible.”

The new hangar, which is supported by Enterprise Ireland, is expected to enter operation in late 2028. The proposed new facility will comprise more than 15,000m sq of aircraft maintenance and ancillary space.

Shannon Airport and the adjacent Shannon Airport Business Park together support Ireland's largest aviation cluster, with almost 100 companies operating across the campus.

Ryanair is due to get the first of its 300 new Boeing MAX-10 aircraft in early 2027 and the growing fleet requires additional maintenance capacity by 2028.