Ryanair Unveils Largest Summer Schedule at Dublin Airport
Ryanair has announced its largest-ever summer schedule at Dublin Airport (DUB) for the 2025 season, capitalizing on the temporary suspension of the airport’s passenger cap. The Irish ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) will base 34 aircraft at the airport, including 14 Boeing 737-8-200s, and introduce one new route to Rabat, Morocco, while increasing capacity on 18 existing routes to destinations like Faro, Portugal; Ibiza and Valencia, Spain; Malta; and Milan, Italy.
The suspension of Dublin Airport’s passenger cap, set at 32 million annually, was granted by the Irish High Court in late 2024 after legal challenges from Ryanair and Aer Lingus. The cap had been imposed by Ireland’s aviation regulator, citing legacy planning conditions related to the airport’s terminal infrastructure. This restriction had forced airlines to reduce flights in 2024, even though passenger demand had pushed DUB to handle 33.3 million passengers last year, a 4% increase from 2023.
Ryanair has been a vocal critic of the cap, calling it “artificial” and detrimental to Ireland’s connectivity and tourism growth. CEO Eddie Wilson welcomed the temporary suspension, but stressed that the long-term situation remains uncertain. “While this is great news for Irish passengers in the short term, the long-term problem has not gone away,” Wilson said. He expressed confidence that the European Court of Justice (ECJ) will deem the cap illegal but acknowledged that there is no certainty about Dublin’s future growth beyond summer 2025.
Wilson urged Ireland’s new Transport Minister, Darragh O’Brien, to prioritize the abolition of the traffic cap, which would enable Ryanair to boost Ireland’s traffic by 50% to 30 million passengers annually by 2030. He believes that removing the cap will allow for greater growth and expansion of the airline’s operations, which is critical to Ireland’s economic and tourism prospects.
Ryanair’s capacity increase comes alongside Dublin Airport’s application to raise its passenger cap to 36 million annually without requiring new construction. The airport authority, DAA, filed a “no build” application with Fingal County Council in December 2024, asserting that the current infrastructure can accommodate the higher number of passengers. In addition, Dublin Airport had applied in late 2023 for a cap increase to 40 million passengers, which would require costly infrastructure upgrades, including extending piers, with an estimated cost of €2.4 billion ($2.5 billion).
Ryanair remains the largest carrier at Dublin Airport, holding a 44.4% share of the market in 2024. For the summer 2025 season, the airline plans to offer over 6 million departure seats from DUB, marking a 4% increase compared to the previous year. This expansion reflects the airline’s strong commitment to the Irish market and its strategy to serve high-demand routes while pushing for regulatory reforms that allow for sustainable long-term growth.
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