Ryanair plots Birmingham and Dublin services to Albania

Budget carrier Ryanair plans to offer new routes from Birmingham and Dublin next year when it a new base at Tirana airport.

 

The three-aircraft base will open in April 2026 and represent an investment of $300 million.

 

The carrier said the base will support more than 3,000 jobs, including 100 new roles for pilots and cabin crew.

 

The development will enable Ryanair to expand its market share in Albania, with more than 450 weekly flights on 33 routes for summer 2026.

 

As well as the new routes to Birmingham and Dublin, the airline will add Milan, Malta, Naples, Pescara, Poznan, Trieste, Turin and Verona to its network.

 

It will also increase frequencies on nine existing routes such as Stansted, Bari, Prague, Stockholm and Warsaw.

 

Over the next five years, Ryanair will continue to invest in Albania, including up to six based aircraft, growing to more than five million passengers a year, and opening more than 20 new routes.

 

Michael O’Leary, Ryanair chief executive, said: “Since launching our first Albania flights in November 2023, Ryanair has worked closely with our partners in Tirana Airport to deliver ambitious growth, which will now see Ryanair’s traffic grow to over four million passengers in 2026.

 

“Ryanair’s continued growth at Tirana offers Albania a massive opportunity to grow its air traffic, tourism and jobs as Ryanair plans to grow to five million passengers pa…provided, of course, that Albania maintains its current low access costs and zero aviation taxes which stimulates rapid growth in traffic, tourism, investment and jobs.”

 

Piervittorio Farabbi, Tirana airport chief operating officer, said: “Upon starting the operations in Albania back in November 2023, the Ryanair team came with a slogan of ’Low Fares Revolution’ in Albania.

 

“Today, we mark a pivotal moment in this revolution announcing the opening of a base in Tirana.

 

“We have heavily invested to expand operational capacities both landside and airside with an extended runway, additional parking stands, renovated apron and taxiways and expanded terminal tripled in size.

 

“We invested in advanced digitalisation in check-in, boarding and passport control. We are proud to be among the fastest airports that are transformed from operations to a base within only 30 months.”