Ryanair Holdings plc (Ryanair) operates as a low-fare, scheduled-passenger airline serving short-haul, point-to-point routes mainly within Europe.
As of March 31, 2025, the company had a principal fleet of 587 Boeing 737 aircraft and 26 Airbus A320 aircraft (total short-haul fleet of 613 aircraft). As of May 16, 2025, the company offered over 3,500 short-haul flights per day serving approximately 230 airports across Europe.
Strategy
The key elements of Ryanair’s long-term strategy are:
Low-F...
Ryanair Holdings plc (Ryanair) operates as a low-fare, scheduled-passenger airline serving short-haul, point-to-point routes mainly within Europe.
As of March 31, 2025, the company had a principal fleet of 587 Boeing 737 aircraft and 26 Airbus A320 aircraft (total short-haul fleet of 613 aircraft). As of May 16, 2025, the company offered over 3,500 short-haul flights per day serving approximately 230 airports across Europe.
Strategy
The key elements of Ryanair’s long-term strategy are:
Low-Fares: Ryanair’s low fares are designed to stimulate demand, particularly from fare-conscious leisure and business travelers who might otherwise use alternative forms of transportation or choose not to travel at all. Ryanair sells seats on a one-way basis, thus eliminating minimum stay requirements from all travel on Ryanair scheduled services. Ryanair sets fares on the basis of the demand for particular flights and by reference to the period remaining to the date of departure of the flight, with higher fares typically charged on flights with higher levels of demand and for bookings made nearer to the date of departure. Ryanair also periodically runs special promotional fare campaigns.
Customer Service: Ryanair’s strategy is to deliver industry leading customer service, including best in class on-time performance and reliability (completing over 99% of its scheduled operations). Ryanair achieves this by focusing strongly on the execution of these services. Ryanair conducts a daily conference call with airport personnel at each of its base airports, during which the reasons for each first wave flight delay and baggage short shipment are discussed in detail and logged to ensure that the root cause is identified and rectified. Subsequent (consequential) delays and short shipments are investigated by Ryanair ground operations personnel.
Frequent point-to-point flights on short-haul routes: Ryanair provides frequent point-to-point service on short- haul routes.
Taking advantage of digital platforms: Ryanair’s reservation system operates under a multi-year hosting agreement with Navitaire. As part of the implementation of the reservation system, Navitaire developed an Internet booking facility.
Commitment to safety. Safety is the primary priority of Ryanair: This commitment includes the hiring and training of Ryanair’s pilots, cabin crew, and maintenance personnel and maintenance of its aircraft in accordance with regulatory requirements and the highest European industry standards.
Enhancement of operating results through ancillary services: Ryanair distributes various optional products, including travel insurance, airport fast track, parking and airport transfers, and accommodation services through its website and mobile app. Ryanair also offers car hire services via a contract with RentalCars.
Focused criteria for growth: It will have opportunities for continued growth by: using fare promotions to stimulate demand; initiating additional routes in the EU; initiating additional routes in countries party to a European Common Aviation Agreement with the EU that are currently served by higher-cost, higher-fare carriers or where competitor traffic capacity has not yet fully returned following the Covid-19 pandemic; increasing the frequency of service on its existing routes; starting new domestic routes within individual EU countries and the UK; considering acquisition opportunities that may become available in the future; connecting airports within its existing route network; establishing new bases; and initiating new routes not currently served by any carrier.
Responding to market challenges: In recent periods, Ryanair’s low-fares business model faced substantial pressure due to significantly increased fuel costs and economic contraction in the economies in which it operates (including global market disruptions related to the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak, the war in Ukraine and the Israel/Hamas conflict).
Route System, Scheduling and Fares
Route System and Scheduling
As of May 16, 2025, the company offered over 3,500 daily scheduled short-haul flights serving approximately 230 airports largely throughout Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
Ryanair focuses on high frequency and business friendly timings between Europe’s main business centers.
Widely Available Low Fares
Ryanair offers low fares, with prices generally varying on the basis of advance booking, seat availability and demand. Ryanair sells seats on a one-way basis, thus removing minimum stay requirements from all travel on Ryanair scheduled services. All tickets can be changed, subject to certain conditions, including fee payment and applicable upgrade charges. However, tickets are generally non-cancellable and non-refundable and must be paid for at the time of reservation.
Ryanair’s discounted fares are driven by Ryanair’s ‘load factor active – yield passive’ strategy whereby seats are priced to ensure that high load factor targets are achieved.
Ryanair also periodically runs special promotional fare campaigns, in particular in connection with the opening of new routes, and endeavors to always offer the lowest fare on any route it serves. Promotional fares may have the effect of increasing load factors and reducing Ryanair’s yield and passenger revenues on the relevant routes during the periods they are in effect. Ryanair expects to continue to offer significant fare promotions to stimulate demand in periods of lower activity or during off-peak times for the foreseeable future.
Marketing and Advertising
Ryanair’s primary marketing strategy is to emphasize its widely available low fares, route choice and great care. Ryanair primarily does so through online advertising, social media, and its own digital platforms, complemented by radio sponsorships and some TV advertising.
In addition, Ryanair uses creative content to drive awareness of communication campaigns (such as the need for ATC reform), ancillary services and policy information through email marketing, social media and the Ryanair app. Social media alone gives Ryanair free access to a monthly audience of over 100m people.
Other marketing activities include co-operative advertising campaigns with other travel-related entities, including local tourist boards. Ryanair also regularly contacts people who have registered in its database to inform them about promotions and special offers.
Reservations on Ryanair.Com
Passenger airlines generally rely on travel agents (whether traditional or online) for a significant portion of their ticket sales and pay travel agents’ commission for their services, as well as reimbursing them for the fees charged by reservation systems providers. In contrast, Ryanair encourages all passengers to make reservations and purchase tickets directly. Due to Ryanair’s long standing online distribution policy, the majority of reservations and purchases are made through the website Ryanair.com, although a significant number of customers are also booking on the Ryanair app and therefore, it is not reliant on travel agents. Ryanair has long campaigned against the anti-consumer practices of Online Travel Agents (OTAs) who overcharge customers, apply hidden mark-ups, and provide fake customer contact and payment details. In 2024, several OTAs signed direct distribution agreements with Ryanair that allow them to market Ryanair flights to consumers in compliance with the principles of price transparency, ensuring that Ryanair is provided with genuine customer details. These deals protect over 90% of OTA consumers from the anti-consumer practices of screenscraping OTAs. Customers who book through unauthorized OTAs are asked to verify their identity on the company’s website to ensure all safety and security protocols during online check-in are adhered to.
Ryanair’s reservations system is hosted under an agreement with the system provider, Navitaire. Under the agreement, the system serves as Ryanair’s core seating inventory and booking system. In return for access to these system functions, Ryanair pays transaction fees that are generally based on the number of passenger seat journeys booked through the system. Navitaire also retains back-up booking engines to support operations in the event of a breakdown in the main system.
The company has agreements with the GDSs Amadeus, Travelport (which operates the Galileo and Worldspan GDSs) and Sabre. These GDSs provide access to Ryanair fares (except for some promotional fare categories) to traditional bricks & mortar travel agents and corporate travel booking tools, but do not offer its fares for re-sale online. In 2024 Ryanair extended its distribution to corporate travelers by announcing agreements with Concur and Kyte.
Aircraft
Boeing Aircraft
As of March 31, 2025, the company had a fleet of 587 Boeing 737 aircraft, which are operated by Buzz, Malta Air, Ryanair DAC and Ryanair UK. The fleet includes 176 Boeing 737-8200 aircraft, each having 197 seats, 410 Boeing 737-800 ‘next generation’ (‘NG’) aircraft, each having 189 seats and 1 Boeing 737-700.
Between March 1999 and March 2025, Ryanair took delivery of 532 Boeing 737NG aircraft, 1 Boeing 737-700 aircraft and 176 new Boeing 737-8200s under its contracts with Boeing and disposed of 122 Boeing 737NG aircraft, including 77 lease hand-backs. In FY25, Ryanair took delivery of 30 new Boeing 737-8200 aircraft.
Under the terms of the 2023 Boeing Contract, Ryanair agreed to purchase up to 300 Boeing 737 MAX-10 series aircraft (of which 150 are firm orders and 150 are subject to an option exercisable at Ryanair’s discretion) in the period from calendar 2027 to 2033 inclusive. It is a short-to-medium range aircraft and, for Ryanair’s specified configuration, will seat 228 passengers (39 (21%) more than the company’s existing Boeing 737-800NGs). The Boeing 737 MAX-10 also offers significantly improved fuel, carbon and noise efficiencies compared to the Boeing 737-800NG, with approximately 20% lower fuel and CO2 emissions and up to 50% less noise. The Basic Price (equivalent to a standard list price for an aircraft of this type) for each of the Boeing 737 MAX-10 series aircraft is approximately U.S.$135m. Net of basic credits, the value of the 150 firm Boeing 737 MAX-10 aircraft under the 2023 Boeing Contract is approximately U.S.$10.6bn. Boeing has granted Ryanair certain price concessions as part of the 2023 Boeing Contract. As a result, the effective price (the purchase price of the New Aircraft net of discounts received from Boeing) of each Boeing 737 MAX-10 will be significantly below the Basic Price mentioned above. The effective price applies to all Boeing 737 MAX-10s due for delivery from calendar 2027.
The Boeing 737 is the world’s most widely used commercial aircraft and exists in a number of generations, the Boeing 737-8200 being the most recent entering service.
The Boeing 737NGs are fitted with CFM 56-7B engines and have advanced CAT III Autoland capability, advanced traffic collision avoidance systems, and enhanced ground-proximity warning systems. The Boeing 737-8200s are fitted with CFM LEAP-1B engines which, combined with the Advanced Technology winglet and other aerodynamic improvements, should reduce fuel consumption by up to 16% on a per seat basis compared to the Boeing 737NGs in Ryanair’s configuration and reduce operational noise emissions by up to 50%.
As of March 31, 2025, the average aircraft age of the company’s Boeing 737 fleet was approximately 10 years.
Airbus Aircraft
As of March 31, 2025, the company had a fleet of 26 leased Airbus A320 aircraft (2024: 27; 2023: 28). These aircraft are operated by Lauda, as a wet lease operator for the Group, and have 180 seats. They are powered by a mix of CFM 56-5B and Pratt & Whitney V2500 engines. As of March 31, 2025, the average aircraft age of the company’s leased Airbus A320 fleet was approximately 18 years.
Summary
Ryanair expects to have approximately 800 narrow-body aircraft in its fleet following delivery of all the Boeing 737-8200 and Boeing 737 MAX-10 aircraft, assuming disposals of some older aircraft (including lease returns) over the period and Boeing’s ability to fulfil both the 2014 and 2023 Boeing Contract.
Training and Regulatory Compliance
As of March 31, 2025, Ryanair owned and operated 9 Boeing 737-800NG, 9 Boeing 737-8200 and 1 A320 full flight simulators for pilot training. The simulators were purchased from CAE Inc of Quebec, Canada (CAE). In addition, Ryanair currently owns and operates 10 state of the art, fixed base simulators from Multi Pilot Simulations (MPS) which are used for pilot assessments and pilot training. The company’s simulators are located at the company’s training centers in Dublin, East Midlands and Bergamo. In FY26, Ryanair will open two new state of the art training centers in Krakow and Madrid.
Ryanair is in compliance with all applicable regulations and EU directives concerning its fleet of Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 aircraft and will comply with any regulations or applicable EU and UK directives that may come into effect in the future. However, there can be no assurance that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the UK Civil Aviation Authority (UK CAA), European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) or any other regulatory authorities will not recommend or require other safety-related undertakings that could adversely impact the company’s results of operations or financial condition, in particular safety-related undertakings related to the Boeing 737-8200.
Ancillary Services
Ryanair provides various ancillary services and engages in other activities connected with its core air passenger service, including non-flight scheduled services (e.g. Priority Boarding and Reserved Seating), internet-related services (e.g. SMS flight confirmation), and the in-flight sale of beverages, food, duty-free and merchandise.
Ryanair primarily markets car hire, travel insurance and accommodation services through its website and mobile app. Ryanair offers car hire services via a contract with RentalCars. Ryanair receives a commission on these sales.
Ryanair markets car parking, fast-track, airport transfers, attractions and activities on its website and mobile app. Ryanair also sells gift vouchers which are redeemable online.
Maintenance and Repairs
As part of its commitment to safety, Ryanair endeavors to hire qualified maintenance personnel, provide proper training to such personnel, and maintain its aircraft in accordance with EASA and UK Regulations and European industry standards. While Ryanair seeks to maintain its fleet in a cost-effective manner, management does not seek to extend Ryanair’s low-cost operating strategy to the areas of continuing airworthiness management, maintenance, training, or quality assurance.
EASA came into being on September 28, 2003, through the adoption of Regulation (EC) No. 1592/2002 of the European Parliament, and its standards superseded the previous Joint Aviation Authority (JAA) requirements.
Ryanair Engineering and the Safety & Compliance department manage the Continuing Airworthiness of the Group fleet in accordance with Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1321/2014 of 26 November 2014 - Continuing Airworthiness and UK Reg. (EU) 1321/2014 - the UK Continuing Airworthiness regulation. Each Group Airline holds applicable approval with their respective National Airworthiness Authority (IAA Ireland, TMCAD Malta, Polish CAA and UK CAA), providing robust oversight of all maintenance activities.
Maintenance activities are undertaken in accordance with EASA and UK Part 145 as applicable, by Ryanair DAC under IAA approval and approved contracted providers.
During FY25, Ryanair established the Ryanair Engineering Academy (the Academy) to increase the number of trainees recruited into the Group to align headcount with future aircraft deliveries. The calendar year 2024 engineering intake included approximately 1,000 trainees, with similar targets in 2025 and 2026. The Academy is approved to deliver maintenance type training courses under EASA and UK Part-147 approvals, with approved training sites located across the Ryanair network, in London (Stansted), Glasgow (Prestwick), Seville and Shannon, with a further site added in 2025 in Bergamo.
Ryanair is an EASA Part-145 approved maintenance organization and provides its own routine aircraft maintenance and repair services. Ryanair also performs certain line maintenance checks on its aircraft, including pre-flight and daily checks at a number of its bases, as well as A-checks at its London Stansted (5 bays), Bergamo (5 bays), Dublin (2 bays), Vienna (2 bays), Nuremberg (2 bays), Madrid (1 bay), Malta (1 bay) and Porto (1 bay) facilities to support line maintenance on Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 aircraft.
Ryanair performs the majority of its Boeing 737 heavy airframe maintenance utilising a Ryanair associated Part-145 approval/organisation for heavy maintenance with a seasonal use of third-party maintenance repair and overhaul (the MRO) facilities. Ryanair has hangar facilities in Prestwick (6 bays), Seville (5 bays), Kaunas (4 bays), Wroclaw (4 bays), Shannon (3 bays) and Hahn (2 bays) which are used for C-check maintenance activities.
Ryanair will continue to look for opportunities to invest in additional hangar facilities over the coming years to ensure there is sufficient hangar capacity for the growing fleet. Ryanair is developing a 7-bay facility in Madrid while the company expects to commence the building of new hangars in Porto, Dublin, Berlin and Lamezia to support the upcoming maintenance requirements.
Maintenance and repair services that may become necessary while an aircraft is located at other airports served by Ryanair are provided by other EASA Part 145-approved contract maintenance providers. Aircraft return each evening to Ryanair’s bases, where they are examined by either Ryanair’s approved personnel or by local EASA Part 145-approved companies.
Heavy Maintenance
Ryanair expects to be dependent on external service contractors for Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 maintenance, particularly for airframe, engine and component maintenance, for the foreseeable future, notwithstanding the capabilities provided by its current maintenance facilities. The company is dependent on external service providers. Ryanair utilizes MROs which provide a high standard of maintenance. The company has a long-term maintenance agreement with the MRO provider Joramco (in Jordan) which will see them undertake up to 10 lines of heavy maintenance for the Group until 2034.
Ryanair contracts out engine overhaul service for its Boeing 737-800NG aircraft to CFM under a ten-year agreement to December 2027, with an option for extension. This comprehensive maintenance contract provides for the repair and overhaul of the CFM56-7B series engines fitted to Ryanair’s Boeing 737-800NG aircraft, the repair of parts and general technical support for the fleet of engines. CFM uses its EASA Part-145 approved repair facilities in Cardiff (Wales), Celma (Brazil), Petropolis (Brazil), Paris (France), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Queretaro (Mexico) and Casablanca (Morocco). By contracting with experienced EASA Part-145 approved maintenance providers, management believes it is better able to ensure the quality of its engine maintenance. CFM LEAP-1B Engines installed on the Boeing 737-8200 aircraft are subject to warranty by CFM. Any required repairs/overhauls subject to this warranty will be accomplished by CFM at its EASA Part-145 approved repair facilities. Engine maintenance providers are also monitored closely by the national authorities under EASA and national regulations. Ryanair trained engineering staff with both Boeing and CFM in advance of the introduction of the Boeing 737-8200 aircraft to the Ryanair fleet.
Safety Record
Ryanair demonstrates its commitment to safe operations through its safety policy, training, procedures, its investment in safety-related equipment and enhancements, and its adoption of an internal, open, and confidential reporting system for safety and security matters.
Ryanair’s flight crew training is oriented towards accident prevention and integrates with the Safety Management System to cover all aspects of flight operations. Threat and Error Management (‘TEM’) is at the core of all flight crew training programs. Ryanair maintains full control of the content and delivery of all flight crew training, including initial, recurrent, and upgrade phases. All training programs are approved/accepted by the relevant National Competent Aviation Authority, (including the IAA, TMCAD Malta, the Polish CAA and the UK CAA) which regularly audits operations standards and flight crew training standards for compliance with EU and UK legislation. All Boeing 737s that Ryanair has bought are certified for Category IIIA landings (automatic landings with minimum horizontal visibility of 200 meters and a 50 feet decision height).
Ryanair has a comprehensive and documented Safety Management System. Management actively encourages flight crews to report any safety-related issues through the Safety Reporting system, which is available online. Also available to crew is Ryanair’s Confidential Reporting System (‘RCRS’) which affords personnel the opportunity to report directly to Safety Officers any event, error, or discrepancy in operations that does not fall into the category of a mandatory report required by regulation, and they do not wish to report through standard reporting channels. Management uses the de-identified information reported through all reporting channels to modify training and/or procedures and improve flight operations standards as necessary. Additionally, Ryanair promotes the use of CHIRP, a confidential reporting system that is endorsed by the UK CAA as an alternative confidential reporting channel.
Ryanair has installed an automatic data capturing system on each of its Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 aircraft. This system captures and downloads aircraft performance information for use as part of Operational Flight Data Monitoring (‘OFDM’) which automatically provides a confidential report on exceedances from normal operating limitations detected during the course of each flight. The purpose of this system is to monitor operational performance and trends and identify any instance of an operational limit being exceeded. By analyzing this information, management can identify undesirable trends and potential areas of operational risk, so as to take steps to rectify such deviations, thereby ensuring adherence to Ryanair’s flight safety standards.
Airport Operations
Airport Handling Services
The majority of Ryanair flights are handled through the airport authorities, either directly through sub-contractors or the airport themselves. The Ground Operations team work to obtain the most competitive service rates for ground, aircraft, and passenger services across the network by negotiating long term agreement deals, often across multiple stations with growth incentives (where possible) with fixed or capped rates to gain certainty over costs. These contracts are generally scheduled to expire in two to seven years, unless renewed, and part of the rates are contingent on performance by the providers to ensure compliance and punctuality. Ryanair provides its own ground services, aircraft handling and passenger services either directly or through partners at Dublin, London (Stansted), Spain, Portugal and various Polish airports. Ryanair has the option under European regulations to handle its own aircraft and passenger services where it cannot obtain competitive rates or quality handling services at each airport.
Airport Charges
As with other airlines, Ryanair must pay airport charges each time it lands and accesses facilities at the airports it serves. Depending on the policy of the individual airport, such charges can include landing fees, passenger loading fees, security fees and parking fees. Ryanair attempts to negotiate discounted fees by delivering annual increases in passenger traffic and/or access to new destinations, and opts, when practicable, for less expensive facilities, such as less convenient gates and the use of outdoor boarding stairs rather than more expensive jetways.
Fuel
Ryanair typically enters into arrangements providing for significant protection against fluctuations in fuel prices, through both forward swap contracts and/or call options covering periods of up to 12 to 18 months of anticipated jet fuel requirements.
Trademarks
Ryanair’s name, logo, certain other names and logos, as well as certain slogans, are registered as:
European Union Trademarks – registrations which afford uniform protection in all 27 EU member states.
National trademarks (in, for example, the UK, Jordan and Lebanon) – registrations which afford protection in the state of registration.
International trademarks – registrations designating relevant countries, which in turn operate as national trademark registrations.
Registered trademarks give Ryanair an exclusive monopoly over the use of the particular mark in the relevant jurisdiction and the right to sue for trademark infringement should another party use an identical or similar mark in relation to identical or similar services.
Government Regulation
Regulatory Authorities
EU air carriers, such as the company and the company Airlines are generally able to provide passenger services on domestic routes within any EU member state outside their home country, as well as between EU member states without restriction, subject to applicable EU and national regulations implemented by competent authorities, including the European Commission and EASA, as well as oversight by the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation (‘Eurocontrol’). The company Airlines are also subject to national regulation in their home countries, which is implemented primarily by in Ireland, the Irish Aviation Authority (‘IAA’) and the Department of Transport (‘DoT’) in the case of Ryanair DAC, in Poland, the Polish Civil Aviation Authority (‘Polish CAA’) in the case of Buzz, in Malta, Transport Malta and the Civil Aviation Directorate (‘Maltese CAD’) in the case of Lauda Europe and Malta Air, and in the United Kingdom, the Civil Aviation Authority and the Department for Transport (‘UK DfT’) in the case of Ryanair UK.
Ireland
The IAA has broad authority to amend or revoke an AOC, with Ryanair’s ability to continue to hold its AOC being subject to ongoing compliance with current and future applicable statutes, rules and regulations pertaining to the airline industry. Ryanair DAC’s current AOC (No. IE 07/94) was issued by the IAA in January 2022.
Each aircraft operated by Ryanair DAC is required to have a Certificate of Airworthiness issued by the IAA. The validity of each Certificate of Airworthiness, and the company’s Flight Operations Department, flight personnel, flight and emergency procedures, aircraft, and maintenance facilities are each subject to periodic review and inspections by the IAA.
Ryanair’s current operating license (No 05/16) was issued by CAR (whose functions were merged with the IAA on April 30, 2023) on September 20, 2016, and is subject to periodic review.
Malta
The Maltese CAD has authority to amend or revoke the AOC, with Lauda Europe’s and Malta Air’s ability to continue to hold their respective AOCs being subject to ongoing compliance with applicable statutes. Lauda Europe’s and Malta Air’s flight operations, aircraft, maintenance facilities and air crew are subject to ongoing review and inspections by the Maltese CAD.
The company’s subsidiary, Malta Air, obtained an AOC (No. MT-57) and operating license (No. (CAD/MT-57) from the Maltese CAD in June 2019.
The company’s subsidiary, Lauda Europe, obtained an AOC (No. MT-62) and operating license (No. (CAD/MT-62) from the Maltese CAD in September 2020.
Poland
The company’s subsidiary Ryanair Sun S.A., operating as Buzz, obtained an AOC (No. PL-066) and operating license (No. ULC-LER-1/4000-0156/06/17) from the Polish CAA in April 2018.
UK
The U.K. CAA has an authority to amend or revoke the AOC, with Ryanair UK’s ability to continue to hold its AOC being subject to ongoing compliance with applicable statutes. Ryanair UK’s flight operations, aircraft, maintenance facilities and air crew are subject to ongoing review and inspections by the UK CAA.
The company’s subsidiary, Ryanair UK, obtained an AOC (No. GB 2451) and an operating license (OL/A/624) from the UK CAA in December 2018.
European Union
The company’s airline subsidiaries, as aircraft operators, are primarily responsible for the payment to Eurocontrol of charges incurred in relation to their aircraft.
Registration of Aircraft
The company’s aircraft operated by Malta Air and Lauda Europe are registered in Malta, the aircraft operated by Buzz are registered in Poland and the aircraft operated by Ryanair UK are registered in the U.K.
Regulation of Competition
The company has strongly refuted the allegation and is engaging with the AGCM which currently has until December 2025 to conclude its investigation.
Data Protection
Ryanair’s processing of personal data is subject to increasingly complex data protection laws including the EU’s GDPR as well as relevant national implementing legislation (Irish Data Protection Act 2018). The GDPR is directly applicable across the member states of the EU and an equivalent data protection regime operates in the UK post-Brexit (the European Commission has considered the UK regime to be adequate by way of the ‘adequacy decision’ adopted on June 28, 2021).
Environmental Regulation
Aircraft Noise Regulations: Ryanair is subject to international, national and, in some cases, local noise regulation standards. EU and Irish regulations have required that all aircraft operated by Ryanair comply with Stage 3 noise requirements. All of Ryanair’s aircraft currently comply with these regulations. Many airports in Ryanair’s network (including London Stansted, London Gatwick, Rome Ciampino, Dublin and Amsterdam) have established local noise restrictions, including limits on the number of hourly or daily operations or the time of such operations.
Company Facilities: The company maintains facilities across its network, including engineering facilities at the airports in Bergamo, Dublin, Frankfurt (Hahn), Glasgow (Prestwick), Kaunas, London (Stansted), Madrid, Malta, Nuremberg, Porto, Seville, Shannon, Vienna and Wroclaw. Planning permissions for company facilities have been obtained in accordance with local requirements and management of noxious or potentially toxic substances as well as of waste removal is conducted in adherence to applicable local, national and EU regulations.
Ryanair’s Policy on Noise and Emissions: Ryanair is committed to reducing emissions and noise through investments in new, efficient aircraft and engine technologies and the implementation of certain operational and commercial decisions to minimize the environmental impact of its operations. The company is constantly working towards improving its environmental performance and in February 2025, its Leadership Level ‘A-’ rating was reconfirmed by CDP – an international non-profit that helps organizations to disclose their environmental impact.
Carbon Offsetting: In October 2016, the CORSIA (Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation) agreement was agreed between 191 ICAO countries. The CORSIA scheme uses market-based environmental policy instruments (carbon credits) to offset CO2 emissions above the 2019 levels, starting from 2021 to 2023, and above 85% of 2019 levels from 2024 to 2035. The scheme is voluntary for ICAO countries until 2026. As of May 2025, 129 out of 191 countries decided to participate.
Other
The company operates under local employment law in all major markets, crew are employed under local contracts of employment and the company complies with all local legislation and regulations in the applicable jurisdiction, including occupational health and safety.
History
Ryanair Holdings plc was founded in 1996. The company was incorporated in 1996.
