Ryanair has announced 11 new routes at Porto airport and eight in Faro for the summer, bringing the total to 164 routes in Portugal, as well as two new aircraft at each airport. Ticket prices are expected to increase by 5% to 10%.
“We are launching our biggest ever summer schedule in Portugal, which includes four new aircraft, two in Porto and two in Faro,” announced the Irish airline’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, at a press conference in Lisbon.
The schedule foresees 11 new routes in Oporto and eight new ones in Faro, in an investment of 400 million euros, but, according to the responsible, there will be no growth in Lisbon, “because TAP continues to block slots that it does not use and has no intention of using.
We keep asking for a second airport, Montijo
“We don’t have new routes in Lisbon, it’s not possible, we don’t have room to continue growing and, therefore, we keep asking for a second airport, Montijo, which, for us, is the best option,” stressed Elena Cabrera, the carrier’s responsible for Portugal and Spain.
Ryanair mentioned, however, that it “continues to invest heavily in Portugal”, with a growth of 13% in the summer, compared to the same period in 2022, with the goal of reaching 13 million passengers carried in fiscal year 2024.
Michael O’Leary also said that the government should fight the extension of environmental taxes to the peripheral areas of the European Union, arguing that they are “unfair” to regions such as Madeira and the Azores, which, he believes, will end up losing visitors to other areas outside the EU, such as Morocco or Turkey.
Regarding the reprivatisation of TAP, Ryanair’s leader expressed his conviction that the Portuguese airline will be sold this year, “probably” to the IAG group, and not to Air France or Lufthansa.
Questioned about the impacts of inflation, O’Leary said that Ryanair ticket prices should increase by 5% to 10% this summer, compared to last summer, “provided there are no further adverse events” after a pandemic and a war in Europe.
Asked about the location of the new training center on the Iberian Peninsula, whose decision should have been known in January, the president of Ryanair referred a decision to mid-February.
“Right now it looks like it will be in Porto, but Madrid has made a final offer,” which is being analyzed, explained Michael O’Leary.
