Irish budget carrier Ryanair has celebrated two decades of operations in Poland with a landmark announcement: a record-breaking summer flight schedule for 2025 operating 304 routes, including 24 new routes and increased frequencies on an additional 90 routes. The expansion is backed by a $4.4 billion investment in Polish operations, which will see 44 Boeing 737-800 and Boeing 737-8200 aircraft at six bases in Gdańsk, Poznan, Katowice, Krakow, Warsaw Modlin, and Wroclaw. This growth is expected to support over 15,000 jobs.
Ryanair’s expansion is driven in large part by its ability to leverage competitive airport charges, particularly at regional airports. These airports have been central to the post-COVID recovery of the aviation industry, with Polish airports seeing a 20% increase in traffic compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2024, is forecasting 18.5 million passengers in 2025 alone.
Ryanair first touched down in Poland in March 2005, shortly after the country joined the European Union, and its inaugural route was between London Stansted and Wroclaw. The airline’s Polish operations expanded rapidly, with the opening of its first base in Wroclaw in 2012.
In 2016 Ryanair Labs , the technology wing of Ryanair, opened a new state of-the-art digital & IT innovation hub in Wrocław , employing 250 staff, working on 30+ projects with a collaboration with Dublin, Madrid and Portugal.
In addition to Ryanair’s growth, the airline’s Polish subsidiary Buzz, formerly Ryanair Sun was founded in 2017 as a standalone business unit of the Ryanair Group headquartered in Warsaw, has been steadily expanding its presence. Buzz, which operates a growing fleet of 73 Boeing 737 aircraft, including 17 Boeing 737-8200 MAX ‘Gamechanger’ aircraft. Buzz operates to holiday destinations and scheduled flights from Central and Eastern European bases on behalf of Ryanair DAC.
Ryanair’s commitment to Poland has extended beyond just expanding its flight network. In 2015, it established Wroclaw Aircraft Maintenance Services (WAMS). The €25 million investment in 2014 to expand its aircraft maintenance capacity allowed the facility to service up to four aircraft simultaneously, creating 300 new jobs and bringing the total workforce to 550.
Further underscoring Ryanair’s long-term investment in Poland, Budimex, a leading Polish construction company, announced in 2024 that it has signed a contract worth PLN 41.2 million to build a state-of-the-art flight simulator and staff training center for the Ryanair Group in Kraków. The facility, set to open in 2025, will span 4,620 m² and house 10 flight simulators, including the first Boeing 737-8200 simulators in Poland. It will provide training for up to 500 people at a time, creating 150 new jobs in the process.
Creative Commons- Andrzej Otrębski
Irish Aviation Research Institute © 5 April 2025 All Rights Reserved