Shannon Airport could be set to lose at least two routes next summer while the frequency on others is also expected to be cut.
According to sources, Ryanair intends axing two services and reducing frequency of three others for summer 2016.
It’s understood however that even with the expected Ryanair schedule changes, capacity at Shannon will be up next year.
Ryanair has not confirmed nor denied speculation that it plans to drop its Shannon to Nice and Poitiers routes.
It’s also understood that the low cost carrier will reduce frequency on the Shannon to Memmingen, Paris and Manchester services.
Ryanair would only say: “We are currently finalising our summer 2016 schedules.”
Shannon was dealt a blow earlier in the year when Stobart Air, which operates the Aer Lingus Regional brand, closed it’s Shannon base with the loss of 20 weekly flights to Birmingham, Bristol and Edinburgh.
In March however Stobart Air reversed it’s decision confirming its intention to return to Shannon and resume operations on it’s old Birmingham route without reopening the base.
Despite these setbacks, Shannon can look forward to a welcome boost in capacity next summer after US airline Delta confirmed it will use a larger aircraft on its seasonal service to New York.
From next May, the airline will use a Boeing 767-300 aircraft on its Shannon to New York/JFK route resulting in a 25% increase in capacity, or 17,000 additional seats.
Aer Lingus has also already introduced a larger aircraft on its Shannon to Heathrow service providing an additional 35,000 seats while the airline has confirmed increased capacity on routes to Faro and Malaga next summer yielding a further 20,000 seats.
A spokesman for Shannon Airport said: “Ryanair operate to 17 destinations from Shannon, carrying over 800,000 passengers annually. We will continue to work with our airline partners, including Ryanair, to explore new opportunities to deliver further growth.”
“Over the past two years Shannon Airport has experienced a 21% growth in traffic and is now focused on consolidating the tremendous increase in capacity which we have enjoyed.
We are heartened by the recent Aer Lingus and Delta announcements which between them will see an additional 123,000 seats at Shannon over the coming year.”
Last week, Shannon Airport received major recognition from the European airline community after being chosen as this year’s winner of the Airport of the Year Award from the European Regions Airline Association (ERA) for the second year in a row.