Ryanair has officially opened its 20th Italian base at Trapani–Marsala Airport in Sicily, underlining the carrier’s continued expansion in one of its most important European markets. The new base became operational on 6 January 2026 and represents a significant milestone in Ryanair’s long-term growth strategy in Italy.
The Trapani base is supported by a $200 million investment in new aircraft and infrastructure and is expected to create more than 800 local jobs, spanning direct airline roles and wider airport, tourism and supply-chain employment. From the new base, Ryanair will operate a total of 23 routes, including 11 new services to Baden-Baden, Bari, Bratislava, Bournemouth, Brussels, Katowice, London, Pescara, Saarbrücken, Stockholm and Verona. Overall capacity at Trapani will increase by more than 260,000 seats annually, a 25% uplift, strengthening year-round connectivity and supporting tourism and regional economic growth in western Sicily.
Operationally, the base launch began on 5 January with the positioning of the first based aircraft, Boeing 737-8AS EI-DVY (msn undisclosed), which operated from Palermo (PMO) to Trapani (TPS) as flight RYR346. The aircraft entered revenue service from the new base the following day, operating Ryanair’s first Trapani-based flights to and from Brussels Charleroi as RYR4489/4490. A second based aircraft is scheduled to arrive at the end of March 2026, ahead of the start of the IATA summer season.
Ryanair Head of Communications Italy, Fabrizio Francioni, said “We are delighted to see the new winter 2026 routes from Trapani to Brussels Charleroi, Baden-Baden, Katowice, Bratislava and Pescara fully operational this week, as part of Ryanair’s wider investment in Trapani-Marsala, which includes the opening of a new base from January 2026 with 2 new aircraft (1 for winter 2025/2026 and 2 for summer 2026, for a $200m investment), new routes, over 1 million passengers per year and more than 800 local jobs supported.
This follows the Sicilian Region’s decision to abolish the municipal surcharge on the island’s smaller airports, with Trapani-Marsala now becoming Ryanair’s third Sicilian base (the twentieth in Italy), further improving international accessibility and ensuring year-round connectivity for Sicilian citizens, encouraging inbound tourism—a constant flow of visitors that supports the local economy year-round.”
Image Credit: Aeroporto di Trapani
Irish Aviation Research Institute © 8 January 2026 All Rights Reserved