Budget airline Ryanair plans to expand in Poland after choosing to downsize operations in Germany due to rising costs there.
In an interview with Business Insider, Alicja Wójcik-Gołębiewska, Ryanair Country Manager for Central and Eastern Europe, said airports in Kraków, Wrocław and Poznań are doing quite well post-pandemic. Kraków is the airline’s largest hub with 90 connections, and there are plans for expansion there and in other cities as well, including Lublin and Chopin.
She also noted that a new strategy is in place for the CPK project, noting that it is now more favorable for regional airports, which are ideal for connections between European cities. CPK is to build a major international airport connected to a massive transport network. Previously, it was thought that the project would make investing in smaller regional airports less attractive.
The manager additionally said that Ryanair continues to develop flights to key destination cities, including in Croatia, Albania, Morocco, and Spain; with this last option reportedly a top holiday spot for Poles.
The Irish airline is cutting flights from Germany over high prices and “dysfunctional” operations. https://t.co/CKXAqE9hp9
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) December 2, 2024Addressing the issue of how local tax policies and fees affect ticket prices, Wójcik-Gołębiewska said, “We recently significantly reduced our presence at German airports due to high fees, and we are not alone. In turn, Sweden decided to abolish its aviation tax from January – as a result, we are adding new connections from that country.”
As to how higher fuel prices could impact ticket prices, she noted that Ryanair has already secured 75 percent of its fuel needs for FY 2026. Secured, meaning further inflation on that front is not a concern. “Our ticket prices are not rising so rapidly, we are talking about a few percent year over year,” she said.
