Ryanair takes over bulk of easyJet’s Stansted slots

Ryanair (FR, Dublin Int’l) will take over 312 weekly slots at London Stansted airport from low-cost carrier rival easyJet (U2, London Luton) at the onset of the summer 2021 season, a slot-swap notice has shown. At the start of the current winter 2020/21 season, easyJet held 376 weekly slots at Stansted, including two held by easyJet Europe (EC, Vienna). The British LCC announced earlier this year that it would close its base at Stansted, although it said it would continue serving the airport from other bases. The swap confirms that easyJet will retain 58 weekly slots, while easyJet Europe will hold an additional pair, which it currently uses for services to Amsterdam Schiphol. In the slot swap request, Ryanair filed a placeholder schedule using the same destinations as previously operated by easyJet. As such, it has yet to confirm its expanded network out of Stansted. Ryanair is already the largest operator at Stansted, holding 2,312 weekly slots, over two-thirds of all. According to the ch-aviation capacities module, during the week starting on November 16, Ryanair will have an 86.8% market share at Stansted by capacity. easyJet used to be the second-largest operator at Stansted. Following the slot-swap, this title will now fall to Jet2 (LS, Leeds/Bradford). Following the closure of its Stansted base, easyJet will retain bases at London Gatwick and London Luton in the British capital (currently, it only flies from the former). Both of them are operated by easyJet UK (U2, London Luton).