As a result of a multimillion pound investment in a new aircraft and additional crew at Edinburgh Airport, Ryanair is announcing six new routes from our capital’s airport this summer.
The new routes will take passengers to Belfast, Bournemouth, Cornwall, London Stansted, Rhodes and Venice as well as 63 other destinations in Ireland and Europe. There will also be an increase in the number of flights to the existing routes from Edinburgh with a total of 11 planes now based here which represent a total investment by the airline of $1.1 billion.
Ryanair has invested £100 million in a new Boeing 737-800 which will lead to 20 new jobs for pilots and cabin crew to fly 4.7 million passengers to and from Edinburgh this year.
An introductory fare of £29.99 for travel between April and October this year can be booked by midnight on 10 February. www.ryanair.com
Dara Brady of Ryanair said: “As the UK’s no.1 airline for low fares and reliability, Ryanair is pleased to announce our new Edinburgh schedule for Summer 2023, with 6 exciting new routes to Belfast, Bournemouth, Cornwall, London Stansted, Rhodes and Venice, offering Edinburgh customers/visitors even more choice for their summer holidays at the lowest fares in Europe.
“This record 2023 schedule will see the addition of one new based aircraft representing another $100m investment in Edinburgh Airport ($1.1bn total) and supporting over 330 highly paid pilot and crew jobs, as Ryanair continues to deliver more traffic, connectivity, and lower fares than any other airline for the UK.
“However, if we are to continue to grow and to drive recovery and connectivity to the UK, Prime Minister Sunak must immediately scrap APD in full for all travel (not just domestic travel) and provide incentives for airlines like Ryanair to stimulate growth and recovery for the UK and its regions.”
Kate Sherry, Aviation Director at Edinburgh Airport, said: “With six fantastic new routes, and increased frequency to many of Europe’s most popular destinations, the arrival of Ryanair’s summer schedule for ’23 is great news for our passengers – as is the introduction of the new cleaner, quieter Boeing 737 Gamechanger aircraft for many of these flights.
“It is always our aim to offer as much choice as possible from Edinburgh and the announcement of this schedule comes as we continue to build towards a strong summer season at the airport.
“This investment, which will also see an additional Ryanair aircraft based at EDI, is a real show of faith in the market – illustrating the growing demand for travel we’re seeing at Edinburgh.”
We asked Mr Brady about squaring any domestic flying with the climate emergency and the need to reduce emissions. He replied: “Ryanair is the most environmentally friendly airline you can fly with. If you look at what we’ve done in a green initiative phase over the last two or three years. We’ve published our strategy for getting to net carbon zero by 2050, which is in line with the EU mandate. But as part of that, every time somebody flies, with Ryanair we emit less CO2 per passenger than any other than any other airline. We’re also integrating brand new aircraft into our fleet, the 737 Gamechangers -we have six of them based in Edinburgh out of that fleet of 11. They burn 16% less fuel and they have 40% less noise emissions than the previous aircraft. We’ve invested €22 billion in more efficient, environmentally friendly aircraft.
“If people are going to continue to fly then they should be doing it on more environmentally efficient aircraft.”
Ryanair says it welcomes the UK Government’s 50% Air Passenger Duty (APD) cut for domestic travel which will take effect from April this year, the company says that the reduction “ignores international connectivity which is fundamental for the growth of the UK’s economy and tourism”. Ryanair repeatedly makes the case to the UK Government that APD needs to be abolished to promote tourism and support the UK’s island-based economy.
The Scottish Government introduced the Air Departure Tax with legalisation in 2017, but will not make this effective until an exemption for the Highlands and Islands is found. The government says it concluded in 2019 that having a 2045 net zero emissions target and a policy of reducing ADT were not compatible with each other. Meantime the UK system of APD remains in force.
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