Ryanair reaches 12 million passenger mark at Mayo airport

RYANAIR has surpassed 12 million passengers through Ireland West Airport since it began operations at the airport in 1986.

This winter, the airline is operating 86 weekly flights across 10 routes to and from Ireland West Airport, including winter sun hotspots like Lanzarote, Malaga and Tenerife, as well as top city break destinations like Edinburgh, Liverpool and London.

Ryanair’s director of comms, Jade Kirwan, said: “We are delighted to mark 12 million Ryanair passengers through Ireland West Airport Knock since Ryanair began operations to/from Knock in 1986. This significant milestone showcases Ryanair’s continued support and investment in the region, delivering important connectivity, traffic, tourism, jobs, and economic growth.

“Ryanair wishes to continue to prioritise Ireland’s regional airports - like Ireland West Airport Knock - for growth, however, the Irish government needs to support these regional airports by expanding the scope of the Regional Airports Programme 2026-30 to at least 3m passenger p.a., which would allow regional airports to grow traffic without being penalised for doing so.”

Ireland West Airport's managing director, Joe Gilmore, said: “This is another significant milestone in the airport’s history welcoming Ryanair’s 12 millionth passenger to the airport.

“Ryanair’s first scheduled commercial flight into Knock was on 16th December 1986 - the 'Spirit of Monsignor Horan' HS-748 landed at Knock from London which at the time was the first direct link from the west of Ireland to London.

“It’s been a fantastic journey over the last 39 years with so many great highlights and milestones achieved along the way.

“During this time Ryanair has continued to grow at the airport and provide critically important international access to and from the UK market and connected the west of Ireland to major European cities such as Milan, Barcelona and Cologne, which have provided a huge tourism and economic boost for the west and northwest of Ireland.

“As we look ahead to the airport's 40th anniversary in 2026 we look forward to continuing to strengthen our relationship with Ryanair and expanding our range of services over the coming years.

“We would like to give a special mention to Ryanair’s customers, and particularly the Ryanair staff here at the airport, who continue to play a very important role in helping the airport and Ryanair reach record passenger milestones such as this and ensure the experience using the airport continues to be both a seamless and pleasant one.”