Ryanair bases third Boeing 737 at Newcastle Airport, expands winter schedule

Ryanair has announced it will station a third Boeing 737 “Gamechanger” at its Newcastle base for winter 2025/26, enabling the launch of five new routes to strengthen its Northeast network. 

The aircraft will be based at Newcastle International Airport (NCL) and operate regular flights as part of the airport’s fleet, the low-cost carrier announced in a statement. 

Ryanair’s CCO Jason McGuinness said the addition of a third Boeing 737 8-200 at Newcastle will offer “a huge economic boost to the North-East”. The carrier added that the aircraft will deliver 120,000 (+36%) additional seats at Newcastle, where Ryanair now expects to carry more than one million passengers annually. 

With the third aircraft added, Ryanair’s Newcastle winter 2025/26 schedule will now include three Boeing 737 8-200 aircraft based at the airport. 

The expansion is supported by a US$300 million investment in Newcastle airport and will generate more than 850 local jobs, which includes 30 new high-paying roles for pilots and cabin crew, the airline added. 

In addition to stationing the new aircraft, the airline said that it has launched five new winter routes from the Newcastle Airport to European cities such as Brussels, Budapest, Gdańsk, Malta, and Wrocław. Ryanair also added more flights to popular destinations like Alicante, Dublin, and Kraków. 

“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, Wrocław and Gdańsk for our passengers to enjoy,” said Newcastle Airport’s COO Richard Knight. 

Ryanair warns UK flight taxes threaten regional airports 

Alongside the announcement of its Newcastle expansion, Ryanair also warned that the increasing Air Passenger Duty (APD) in the UK makes flying “uncompetitive”, particularly at regional airports.  

The airline said that the current £13 (US$17.55) tax per passenger, set to rise by £2 (US$2.70) in April 2026, contrasts with countries like Sweden, Hungary, and Italy, which are cutting fees to boost tourism and traffic. Ryanair said the hike could cost “UK regions jobs, tourism and economic growth”. 

The airline called on UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves to “scrap this penal tax,” claiming that doing so would enable the low-cost carrier to pursue its ambitious expansion plans in the country. 

Ryanair mentioned that if the APD tax was abolished it could introduce 30 new aircraft, start 200 new routes, accommodate an extra 27 million passengers each year – raising total traffic to 80 million – and invest US$3 billion, which would create 20,000 jobs in the process. The post Ryanair bases third Boeing 737 at Newcastle Airport, expands winter schedule appeared first on AeroTime.

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