Ryanair has opened its first heavy maintenance facility in Ireland in a move the airline says has led to the creation of 200 new jobs.
The low-cost carrier, which unveiled the facility today (May 18), has invested €10 million ($10.5 million) in the three-bay hangar located at Shannon Airport on the southwest coast of Ireland.
The 56,200 ft.2 facility is on lease from Shannon Group, which oversees running Shannon Airport in addition to the Shannon Commercial Properties and Shannon Heritage businesses.
Ryanair has had a presence in Shannon since 1986 and has operated a base there since 2005. It says the new job roles are comprised of licensed engineers, mechanics and support staff.
Neal McMahon, director of operations at Ryanair, says the facility will aid maintenance of the airline’s fleet as it surpasses 600 aircraft by 2026. Ryanair operates an all-Boeing 737 fleet and it has orders in place for more than 100 737 MAX aircraft, with deliveries of the narrowbody beginning in summer 2021 following a delay of more than two years.
Before opening the Shannon facility, Ryanair conducted base maintenance in the UK at Glasgow Prestwick Airport and Eastern Europe through its Kaunas Aircraft Maintenance Services business in Lithuania.
It also outsources some of its aircraft, and in the past month has signed several new heavy maintenance agreements. These include winter maintenance deals with UK-based MRO Caerdav, contracting with STS Aviation Services to outsource some heavy maintenance to its Birmingham facility and sending aircraft to Jordan to be serviced by Joramco in Amman.
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