Does Ryanair fly from Europe to USA?

With travel to the US getting easier, Covid restrictions gone and US Preclearance in Dublin and Shannon, surely the low-cost airline to end them all would crush it if it went transatlantic. So, will Ryanair finally fly to the US? “No,” says its CEO Eddie Wilson.



No, as of March 2026, Ryanair does not fly from Europe to the USA, and CEO Michael O'Leary has reiterated that the airline has no immediate plans to enter the transatlantic market. The Ryanair business model is built on "high-frequency, short-haul" routes using a single aircraft type (Boeing 737) to keep maintenance costs low and "turnaround" times fast. Long-haul flights would require a completely different fleet of wide-body aircraft, expensive long-range fuel logistics, and a different labor structure for crews. While Ryanair’s 2026 summer schedule has expanded significantly within Europe and North Africa—adding routes to places like Albania and Morocco—it remains strictly a regional carrier. Travelers looking for low-cost transatlantic options in 2026 still rely on airlines like Norse Atlantic Airways, JetBlue, or PLAY, rather than the Irish budget giant.

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Search Ryanair's extensive network of over 200 destinations in 34 countries, and start planning your holiday or business trip today.

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The high cost of operating in the US includes taxes, customs, fees and other charges which adds a significant cost to operating flights.At the same time, Ryanair also faces a challenge of a shortage of aircraft that meet the current U.S. aviation regulations.

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Ryanair's new routes for 2023
  • Brussels (Belgium) to Asturias (Spain), Lodz (Poland) and Nantes (France).
  • Cluj (Romania) to Brussels, Dublin (Ireland), Milan Bergamo (Italy) and Paris Beauvais (France).
  • Edinburgh (UK) to Cornwall (UK).
  • Düsseldorf (Germany) to Asturias, Milan Bergamo, Pula (Croatia) and Reus (Spain).


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Also on Ryanair's new list of destinations are Belfast, Tirana in Albania, Tatry in Slovakia and Treviso in Italy. On top of that, the airline will be increasing its number of services on existing routes, with the likes of Alicante, Faro, Athens and Cologne also getting higher capacity.

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Aer Lingus has a hybrid business model of low-cost and traditional carriers, operating a mixed fare service on its European routes and full service, two-class flights on transatlantic routes. Ryanair owned over 29% of Aer Lingus stock and the Irish state owned over 25% before being bought out by IAG in 2015.

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The seats are known to be small and cramped, with limited recline and no extra padding. This can make for a less than pleasant experience on longer flights. Additionally, Ryanair is known for their aggressive fee structure and tight scheduling, which can be a source of frustration for some travelers.

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A transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe, Africa, South Asia, or the Middle East to North America, Latin America, or vice versa.

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While the airline does fly to some main airports, the majority of its flights operate to and from cheaper secondary airports. These airports charge a lot less for things like slots, parking, and airport fees, so Ryanair can afford to offer low fares on these routes.

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Ryanair Group has 59% more aircraft than easyJet Ryanair Group has the biggest low cost airline fleet in Europe by a considerable margin, with 514 aircraft at 21-Jun-2022, according to the CAPA Fleet Database. This is 190 more aircraft than Europe's number two LCC fleet, easyJet Group, which has 324 aircraft.

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