Ryanair Expands Birmingham Winter Flights with Five Routes and Nine Based Aircraft

New links to Copenhagen, Rome Fiumicino, Warsaw Modlin, Marrakesh and Tirana headline a 40-route schedule as the carrier targets four million annual passengers.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Ryanair’s Birmingham winter 2026 programme features 40 routes including five new destinations.
• The airline will base nine aircraft at Birmingham this winter, one more than in winter 2025.
• Frequencies rise on seven routes including Barcelona, Poznan and Budapest.
• Ryanair projects 21% annual passenger growth to four million and values its based aircraft investment at US$900 million.

Travellers flying from Birmingham Airport will have five additional destinations in Ryanair’s winter 2026 network, with new services to Copenhagen, Rome Fiumicino, Warsaw Modlin, Marrakesh and Tirana joining an expanded schedule of 40 routes. The airline is also adding flights on seven existing routes as it targets annual passenger growth of 21% at its West Midlands base.

The enlarged winter programme includes nine based aircraft, one more than in winter 2025. Ryanair assigns a US$900 million investment value to the nine-aircraft operation and expects its Birmingham traffic to reach four million passengers annually. The figure is an airline projection rather than a recorded passenger total, while its estimate of more than 3,270 jobs supported locally encompasses the broader impact it attributes to its operations.

New city breaks and connections for the West Midlands

The five announced winter additions span Scandinavia, Italy, Poland, North Africa and the Balkans. Copenhagen offers a new Danish connection, while Rome Fiumicino, Warsaw Modlin, Marrakesh and Tirana broaden the airline’s choice of leisure and visiting-friends-and-relatives destinations from Birmingham. Ryanair is also increasing frequency on seven established routes, naming Barcelona, Poznan and Budapest among them.

For the region’s travellers, the changes mean more options for winter departures and potentially greater flexibility on routes receiving extra services. The airline has introduced a limited-time promotion advertising fares from £29.99, bookable through the Ryanair app; availability and applicable conditions depend on the sale.

Although Ryanair describes the ninth aircraft as an addition for winter 2026, it previously announced a nine-aircraft Birmingham operation for the summer 2026 season. The new comparison is specifically with winter 2025, rather than evidence of an increase over the preceding summer.

Airport welcomes expansion as airline raises tax concerns

Matt Hazelwood, Chief Commercial Officer at Birmingham Airport, welcomed the expanded winter network as a sign of the airline’s commitment to the airport and the wider region. He said the airport and Ryanair were working together to respond to demand for more destination choice and connectivity across the Midlands.

Dara Brady, Ryanair’s Chief Marketing Officer, linked the additional aircraft and routes to inbound tourism and local employment. Alongside the schedule announcement, he reiterated Ryanair’s opposition to UK Air Passenger Duty (APD), arguing that the tax raises operating costs for regional airports and should be abolished. He also criticised proposals that could allow regional visitor accommodation levies. These are the airline’s policy positions, not established conclusions about the effects of the taxes.

Brady said Ryanair had submitted proposals to increase its UK traffic by 27% to 80 million passengers by 2030, conditional in the airline’s view on APD being abolished. In a separate criticism of air traffic control performance, he called on Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander to replace Martin Rolfe, chief executive of NATS, following past disruptions. The statement offered Ryanair’s assessment of NATS management, rather than a finding by an independent investigation.

The winter timetable and its five announced additions were detailed in Ryanair’s 21 October 2026 announcement. For Birmingham Airport, the programme represents a continuation of the carrier’s efforts to develop year-round routes and retain travellers who might otherwise travel to other departure airports.