The investment will see a further three aircraft being allocated to the airport from November (taking this to a total of seven aircraft at the Portuguese base) as part of its winter 2021 schedule.

With this expansion, Ryanair will operate 50 routes and more than 250 weekly flights from Lisbon, including 22 new routes to destinations in Italy, Morocco, France, Spain, Poland, United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, among others. Additionally, Ryanair will schedule 20 additional weekly flights on eight routes in its network.

Ryanair Commercial Director Jason McGuiness said: “We are pleased to announce our expansion plans in Lisbon this winter with three more aircraft at the airport, representing an investment of 300 million dollars, and 22 new routes to fantastic destinations in Italy, Morocco, France, UK, Spain, Poland, Denmark and Germany. Ryanair will operate more European short-haul routes from Lisbon than any other airline this winter, being one of the biggest foreign investors in the Portuguese economy, creating local jobs and contributing more than €138 million annually in government taxes and fees.

“We remain committed to supporting Portugal’s tourism industry and regaining connectivity after the impact of the pandemic. This expansion will provide 5 million passengers a year to Lisbon and will support more than 4,000 direct and indirect jobs in the region”.

He added: “We call on the European Commission to ensure that TAP no longer accumulates slots at Lisbon Airport that it cannot use, which is blocking both competition and the offer of consumers in Lisbon. It is now vital that the Portuguese Government and the European Commission support our US$300 million growth plan, accelerating the development of airport infrastructure in Lisbon (including the opening of Montijo) and preventing TAP from accumulating take-off and landing slots at Lisbon Airport, without any benefit for Portuguese taxpayers.

“We will continue to transport millions of visitors to and from Portugal, investing in the tourism sector and standardising travel, while offering our customers the widest range of routes and the lowest fares.”