“WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE BALEARICS OWN ITS AIRPORTS.”

Ryanair celebrated its 30th birthday yesterday and in Palma, its Commercial Director General outlined the airline’s plans for the future while warning Majorca not to rest on its laurels and keep a close eye on winter competition if it seriously wants to boost off season tourism.The Irish low cost airline has carried 750 million passengers over the past 30 years.
In 1985, it had one plane, operated one route and carried 5,000 passengers. This year it expects to carry 90 million and in 2016, when it will be  operating 1,600 daily flights from 72 airports, connecting 189 destinations in 30 countries with 300 planes, 100 million passengers.
Commercial Director General, David O’Brien said yesterday that Palma is becoming another key base for the airline.
It already has  five aircraft based here, operates 47 routes, employs 3,000 people and flies some three million people a year in to Son San Joan airport.
And, O’Brien said that while this year, they do not expect to see a significant increase in passenger traffic into Palma, new routes are coming on line and frequencies are being increased.
Ryanair, which operates 305 flights per week in and out of Palma during the summer, is now the number two airline at Son San Joan airport and has plans to increase its operations and take over the number one spot.