Ryanair has announced it has carried over 6 million passengers through Belfast International Airport since launching operations there in 2016. The airline has invested $200 million in the region, basing two aircraft at the airport and supporting over 1,000 local jobs. Ryanair operates 176 weekly flights across 19 routes, including a new year-round route to Kaunas.

Belfast International Airport CEO, Dan Owens, said “We are delighted to celebrate this significant milestone with Ryanair, marking 6 million passengers flown from Belfast International Airport . This achievement reflects the strength of our partnership and the growing demand for affordable, accessible travel from Northern Ireland. Ryanair continues to play a vital role in connecting Belfast to key destinations across Europe, and we look forward to building on this success together.”

Ryanair’s Director of Comms, Jade Kirwan, said “While Ryanair has grown significantly at Belfast over the years, we could be growing more rapidly at Belfast and the wider UK, but Rachel Reeves’ bizarre decision to raise APD taxes by £2 per passenger damages these growth prospects. If the UK Govt. wants to deliver growth, they should abolish their penal and damaging APD tax, which makes the UK uncompetitive when EU countries like Sweden, Hungary, and regions in Italy are abolishing aviation taxes, and winning dramatic traffic, tourism, and jobs growth from the UK. We look forward to carrying millions more passengers to/from Belfast on Ryanair’s low-fare flights over the years to come.”

Image Credit: Belfast International Airport

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