Ryanair to open new base at Trapani Birgi Airport in Jan-2026
Ryanair announced (24-Sep-2025) plans to open a new, two aircraft base at Trapani Birgi Airport in Jan-2026, marking its third in Sicily and 20th in Italy. The LCC plans to operate 23 routes from Trapani, including 11 new connections to Karlsruhe/Baden Baden, Bari, Bratislava, Bournemouth, Brussels, Katowice, London, Pescara, Saarbrucken, Stockholm and Verona. The LCC expects traffic growth to exceed one million passengers p/a, with operations to support more than 800 jobs. Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson stated: "Ryanair welcomes the decision by President Schifani and the Sicilian Government to abolish the municipal tax at small Sicilian airports and believes now is the right time to take another step forward". Mr Wilson added: "Extending this measure to all Sicilian airports would unlock additional connectivity opportunities, enable lower fares and strengthen year-round connectivity for Sicilian citizens and visitors. This will enable Ryanair to... [add] three million additional passengers per year, five new aircraft, expanded routes to mainland Italy and international destinations and thousands of new local jobs". [more - original PR - Italian]
Background ✨
Ryanair has repeatedly emphasised that the abolition of the municipal surcharge at smaller Italian airports, such as in Abruzzo, Calabria, and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, led to significant traffic increases and new route launches. It stated that a nationwide removal could enable it to deliver ambitious growth, including 40 additional aircraft, 250 new routes, and traffic growth to over 80 million passengers annually in Italy1 2 3 4.