Ryanair is adding seven new routes from Stansted this summer as boss Michael O’Leary criticised plans for a Heathrow third runway and reiterated his call for an abolition of Air Passenger Duty.
Europe’s largest budget carrier is to start services to Bodrum, Clermont-Ferrand, Dalaman, Munster, Lubeck, Linz and Reggio Calabria, bringing its London summer schedule up to 206 routes.
Extra frequencies will be introduced on 30 other routes to Gdansk, Ibiza, Malaga, Milan, Rome, Turin and Valencia.
Ryanair will base a new Boeing 737 at Stansted to support the growth, bringing its total London-based fleet to 56 aircraft and creating 30 new jobs for pilots, cabin crew and engineers.
Group chief executive O’Leary claimed the airline could be growing more rapidly to and from the UK.
But chancellor Rachel Reeves “bizarre” decision to raise APD by £2 per passenger from 2026 “damages the growth prospects of the UK, and in particular regional UK airports”.
“Rachel Reeves is trying to distract people by floating a third runway at Heathrow, or a second at Gatwick, which even if approved, won’t arrive for 10 or 20 years, long after the life of this Labour government,” O’Leary said.
“If she is serious about delivering growth, then she should abolish the penal and damaging APD tax, which makes the UK uncompetitive when EU countries like Sweden, Hungary, Ireland, and regions in Italy are abolishing aviation taxes, and winning dramatic traffic, tourism, and jobs growth from the UK.”
He added: “If Rachel Reeves is serious about growth, then stop wasting time talking about a third runway at Heathrow. which won’t deliver till 2030 or 2040, and instead do something useful to drive growth during the life of the current Labour government and abolish APD.
“This would deliver dramatic investment and growth in air travel, tourism, and economic activity, not just in London but across the UK regions.
“Sadly to date, the Labour government has raised taxes while it rewarded train drivers and junior doctors, but damages economic activity and growth with this APD tax hike.”