Ryanair's low fares land in Northern Sardinia

WITH RECORD SUMMER ’24 SCHEDULE

Including the first flights to Olbia, and 11 new routes (total 33 routes)

Ryanair, Europe and Italy’s No.1 airline today (Jan 31) announced a record Summer ’24 schedule for North Sardinia with 11 new routes and the addition of Olbia, the 30^th Italian airport, to our growing Italian network. Ryanair will now operate to all 3 Sardinian airports, enhancing Sardinia’s year-round connectivity and growing inbound tourism for the Island.

The new operation in Olbia commences this summer and will serve 10 new routes - 3 domestic to Milan Bergamo, Trieste, and Bologna and 7 internationals to Dublin, London Stansted, Paris, Brussels, Copenhagen, Krakow, and Vienna across over 60 weekly flights. In addition, Ryanair continues to grow connectivity in Alghero with over 170 weekly flights and 23 routes (including one new route to Frankfurt Hahn), representing growth of +12% for Summer ‘24.

Ryanair’s S24 schedule for North Sardinia will deliver:

•        11 new routes – Frankfurt Hahn (Alghero) & Dublin, London (ST), Paris, Brussels, Copenhagen, Milan Bergamo, Trieste, Bologna, Vienna, and Krakow (Olbia)
•        33 routes in total (10 in Olbia / 23 in Alghero)
•        Over 1.2m pax for Summer ‘24
•        Over 900 jobs

There is an opportunity for Sardinia to secure accelerated year-round passenger growth subject to the Sardinian Government lowering access costs and scrapping the Municipal Tax which hinders growth, and results in a severe shortage of connectivity and choice in the Winter season. Subject to the Sardinian Government scrapping the municipal tax, Ryanair is ready to respond by delivering an additional 2m passengers to Sardinia per year (+50% growth) and opening a new aircraft base in North Sardinia creating over 1,500 additional jobs. This would deliver transformational tourism and connectivity growth to the Region on a year-round basis like we have done in Trieste where we have launched a new “Gamechanger” base ($100m investment) and added 50% connectivity growth following the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region’s decision to scrap the municipal tax.

To celebrate its record S24 schedule for Sardinia, Ryanair has launched a 3-day seat sale with fares from €24.99 on sale only at ryanair.com.

Ryanair’s Chief Commercial Officer Jason McGuinness said:

“As Europe and Italy’s No.1 airline, Ryanair is delighted to announce this new investment in Northern Sardinia and the addition of Olbia Airport to our growing Italian network. This Summer, we will deliver a record schedule to North Sardinia with over 230 weekly flights across 33 routes, delivering over 1.2m passengers to / from the Region. We have worked extensively with the management of Alghero and Olbia Airports to deliver this record growth for Northern Sardinia.

Following the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region’s recent decision to scrap the municipal tax from 1 January 2024, Ryanair launched a new base in Trieste and added 50% growth for Summer ’24 which forms part of an overall shared vision to lower access costs, and double both passengers and inbound tourism over the next 5 years. It is now the turn of the Sardinian Government to scrap the municipal tax which doesn’t exist in similar touristic islands like the Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, Cyprus or Malta, as this excessive tax is hindering the growth of the Island’s connectivity and tourism industry.

If the municipal tax is abolished, Ryanair is primed to respond like we did in Trieste by accelerating connectivity and tourism growth to the Island, adding over 2m additional passengers p.a. (+50% growth), launching a new base in North Sardinia creating over 1,500 new jobs, and launching new routes to key markets like Germany, France, the UK and the Nordics.

To celebrate its record S24 schedule for Sardinia, Ryanair has launched a 3-day seat sale with fares from €24.99 on sale only at ryanair.com.”

Geasar & Sogeaal CEO, Silvio Pippobello, said:

Northern Sardinia airports welcome with satisfaction the schedule presented by Ryanair for Summer '24, which promises to be a record season. The expansion of the Alghero network and new Olbia's operation will allow in the coming years to broaden the range of served markets and reduce the seasonality of flows in Northern Sardinia.

This significant achievement is the result of synergistic collaboration between the two airport management companies in Alghero and Olbia and Ryanair's ability to identify Northern Sardinia as a strategic destination for its future development.

The completion of this project, in which airports and the airline have invested substantial resources, can only improve with the active support all operators and institutions. A joint commitment from all stakeholders will be essential to develop a strategy aimed at adapting the tourism offer in terms of season extension, capacity, quality, and resources, contributing to the consolidation of Northern Sardinia's position as a top tourist destination.