Ryanair expands Swedish footprint, reopens Billund base

Ryanair (FR, Dublin Int’l) will open two bases in Scandinavia from October 2021, basing two aircraft each at Billund in Denmark and another two at Stockholm Arlanda in Sweden, representing a combined investment of USD400 million, the airline announced. Billund Airport’s Chief Executive Officer, Jan Hessellund, expected Ryanair’s USD200 million base investment in Billund to bring more than 100,000 new tourists to West Denmark. Ryanair previously had a base at Billund but closed it in 2015 after Danish trade unions went on strike over the carrier’s Irish-based collective labour agreement. The 60 employees to be hired now will now work under Danish employment conditions, Ryanair Chief Executive Officer, Eddie Wilson, told a local press conference. However, Thilde Waast, chairperson of the Flight Personnel Union (FPU) in Denmark, said the parties were still a long way from an agreement. “We hope that we can find a solution at the negotiating table before the base is started up,” she said. Meanwhile, Ryan announced its new base at Stockholm Arlanda would mean another 60 new jobs, 89 departing flights per week, and 21 new routes to 15 countries across Europe from October, representing another USD200 million investment. This would include Ryanair’s first domestic Swedish services from Stockholm Arlanda to Gothenburg Landvetter (14 x weekly) and Malmö (10 x weekly).