New flights will be added to Brussels, Budapest, Gdańsk, Malta and Wrocław, as well as extra services to Alicante, Dublin and Kraków
12:00, 19 Aug 2025Updated 12:43, 19 Aug 2025
Newcastle Airport(Image: Newcastle Airport)
Budget airline Ryanair is to add five new destinations from Newcastle Airport after moving to base a third airline in the North East. The company has announced a two-day sale with fares from £29.99 to accompany the launch.
The $100m (£74m) investment will create around 40 new jobs and support hundreds more. The additional capacity from the new plane will see Ryanair add flights to Brussels, Budapest, Gdańsk, Malta and Wrocław, as well as adding extra flights to Alicante, Dublin and Kraków.
Ryanair’s increased capacity will see it add 120,000 additional seats and take its annual passenger numbers at Newcastle above a million. But the company also took a swipe at the Government over increases to air passenger duty, which it says it holding back growth in the UK.
Ryanair’s chief commercial officer Jason McGuinness said: “We are delighted to announce this additional US$100m investment in Newcastle today. This third Boeing 737 8-200 ‘Gamechanger’ based aircraft arriving in Winter will provide a huge economic boost to the North East – delivering 120,000 (+36%) additional seats and five new routes to Brussels, Budapest, Gdańsk, Malta, and Wrocław, as well as supporting over 850 local jobs including 30 local pilot and cabin crew jobs we’re now hiring for.
“This Winter Ryanair will operate a record schedule at Newcastle that will deliver more than one million annual passengers thanks to the hard work of Newcastle Airport to remain competitive despite Labour’s reckless decision to increase the regressive APD tax. As an island economy on the periphery of Europe, it is vital that UK airports particularly in the regions offer competitive access costs to airlines.
Ryanair launches a new aircraft at Newcastle Airport: Tom Spencer (Newcastle Airport), Ray Kelliher (Ryanair), Leon McQuaid (Newcastle Airport), Wallis Senior, Richard Knight (both Newcastle Airport), Jason McGuinness (Ryanair) and Chris Ion (Newcastle Airport)(Image: Newcastle Airport)
“The excessive UK APD tax imposes £13 on all UK citizens/visitors, making air travel from the UK uncompetitive, particularly when other European countries, like Sweden, Hungary and Italy, are lowering costs and cutting taxes to encourage rapid traffic and tourism growth. Conversely the UK Government has decided to further increase this tax by £2 (+15%) from April ’26 costing UK regions jobs, tourism and economic growth.
“Ryanair calls on Rachel Reeves to scrap this penal tax and allow UK connectivity, employment and tourism to flourish. If the UK Government abolishes APD, Ryanair will respond with its ambitious growth plan for the UK to increase annual traffic by 27m (+50% to 80m pax p.a), base +30 additional aircraft (US$3bn investment), launch 200 routes (800 total) and create 20,000 jobs.”
The announcement comes three months after fellow budget airline easyJet announced a new base at Newcastle Airport, creating hundreds of jobs and adding new destinations for North East holidaymakers. The airport recently published its 2040 masterplan in which said it wanted to almost double its passenger numbers to nine million a year and employ more than 5,000 staff.
Newcastle Airport’s chief operating officer, Richard Knight, said: “It’s fantastic news that Ryanair have committed to further investment in the region with the addition of a third based aircraft at Newcastle Airport, bringing with it five exciting new Winter routes to Brussels, Budapest, Malta, Wroclaw and Gdansk for our passengers to enjoy. This expansion will deliver over one million passengers for Ryanair over the next 12 months, reflecting the strength of our partnership and the growing demand for connectivity from the North East to key European destinations.
“Brussels is a brand new connection for the airport’s departure board and will provide great connectivity for both leisure and business passengers to the capital of Belgium. The addition of more winter flights to Budapest, Gdansk, Malta and Wroclaw will provide additional flight options for passengers looking to explore these popular destinations from the region.”
The Treasury has been contacted for comment.
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