Ryanair to Operate a Record Number of Routes from Bratislava in Summer 2026
Ryanair will operate a total of 33 scheduled routes from M. R. Štefánik Airport during the summer 2026 timetable. This includes 10 new destinations. The record summer schedule was presented in Bratislava by Michael O’Leary, the head of Europe’s largest low-cost airline. During his visit, he commemorated the 20th anniversary of Ryanair’s operations in Bratislava in the airport’s departure hall.
The Ryanair CEO visited Bratislava for the first time in 11 years. He last came in November 2014, when he announced the opening of Ryanair’s base in Bratislava, where two Boeing 737-800 aircraft were initially based. The base at M. R. Štefánik Airport was officially opened on 30 March 2005. The airline added a third based aircraft to its Bratislava base in October 2025.
Ryanair has been operating at Bratislava Airport since 11 October 2005, when it launched direct flights from Bratislava to Milan. What began as four routes has grown over the past 20 years into a record 33 destinations that the airline will serve from Bratislava in summer 2026. In total, Ryanair has already transported more than 17 million passengers to and from Bratislava.
“Ryanair is Europe’s most-used airline. We are proud to be celebrating 20 years of our flights from Bratislava – and our low fares – together with our partners at M. R. Štefánik Airport,” said Michael O’Leary of Ryanair. “We are working closely with our partners in Slovakia to deliver record passenger growth. In 2026, Ryanair’s traffic in Bratislava will rise to 2 million passengers, we will base three aircraft here – a $300 million investment – and we will open ten new routes,“ O’Leary announced at Bratislava Airport.
In summer 2026, a total of ten new routes will connect Bratislava with Alicante, Athens, Barcelona, Lamezia Terme, Malaga, Naples, Palermo, Pisa, Tirana and Warsaw (Modlin Airport).
“For a full two decades, our long-term and reliable partner Ryanair has been safely transporting passengers from Bratislava to many European destinations. We are pleased that our cooperation grew this year with the addition of a third based aircraft. It made it possible to open several new scheduled routes from Bratislava both this year and next year. We thank Ryanair for the long-standing partnership and look forward to many more years of safe flights from Bratislava,“ said airport director Dušan Novota.
“It has now been 20 years since Ryanair began connecting Bratislava with the world. Thanks to this airline, hundreds of thousands of tourists have been able to discover Slovakia, and we Slovaks have been able to travel affordably for work, to visit family, or to go on trips. Our airport is busier today than ever before, thanks to Ryanair and other carriers,“ said Slovakia’s Minister of Transport, Jozef Ráž.