Struggling to Replace Lost Passengers After Ryanair Exit
Airport in Denmark, Billund, confronts challenges in filling Ryanair's vacancy, aiming to bridge the gap left behind.
After the last Ryanair flight from Billund took off on Saturday, the airport's departments are in high gear, hoping to make up for the lost business. With Ryanair's decision to close its base and pull 24 services, Billund stands to lose around 1.1 million passengers who would have flown from there this year.
Ads
Due to the closure of Ryanair's base and loss of services at Billund, the airport finds itself under pressure to recover as much of the lost traffic as possible. According to Billund Airport's marketing and communication head, Jesper Klausholm, they are giving it their all to minimize the shortfall.
"We're doing everything we can to bridge the gap left by Ryanair as much as possible," Klausholm said, admitting that the loss of 1.1 million passengers and numerous routes is a significant blow.
Ryanair announced in February that it would shut down its two-aircraft base at Billund and cancel all its 24 services from the airport as of the end of March, attributing the decision to Denmark's new air travel tax that would increase costs on all departures from Denmark by up to 50 kroner.
Ads
To counteract the decline, Billund has partnered with several airlines to introduce new routes, notably a new flight to London Gatwick with Norwegian and services to several Spanish destinations. However, it'll take time to replace the lost choices for customers and traffic for the airport, Klausholm admitted.
"Losing that many passengers and routes means a big challenge, but it also offers opportunities for other low-cost airlines," he added.
Aside from Norwegian, Wizz Air has also announced new routes to capitalize on the open slots on Ryanair's former services, such as routes to Malaga, Alicante, Gatwick, Poland, Lithuania, and Moldova. A new route to Barcelona is set to be offered by airline Vueling.
Even though new routes are coming into play, it's not exactly the speedy recovery that Billund Airport would prefer. Klausholm explained, "It's going in the right direction, but it's obviously not as fast as we'd like." The airport expects to bring in around 200,000 passengers via the new routes next year, which will help alleviate the situation, he added.
With community discussions happening in our comments section below, and questions or suggestions to our journalists sent to news@our website, join us in navigating this evolving travel situation.
[1] New Routes Announced at Billund Since Ryanair’s Withdrawal[2] European Airfares Surge by 87% After Ryanair Exit[3] Impact of Ryanair’s Exit on Intercontinental Fares[4] Denmark’s Aviation Tax and Its Effect on Ryanair’s Decision[5] New Offers and Attractions to Boost Tourism After Ryanair’s Withdrawal
- The gradual introduction of new routes at Billund Airport, including flights to London Gatwick with Norwegian, several Spanish destinations, Malaga, Alicante, Poland, Lithuania, Moldova, and Barcelona with Vueling, are attempts to make up for the lost traffic due to Ryanair's exit.
- Despite the announcement of new routes, the recovery at Billund Airport isn't as quick as they'd prefer, with Klausholm expecting around 200,000 passengers next year via the new routes, which will help alleviate the situation.
- The loss of 1.1 million passengers and numerous routes due to Ryanair's closure of its base at Billund has been a significant blow, but it presents opportunities for other low-cost airlines, according to Klausholm.
- Wizz Air has announced new routes to capitalize on the open slots on Ryanair's former services, such as routes to Malaga, Alicante, Gatwick, Poland, Lithuania, and Moldova.
- News about the new routes, effects of Ryanair’s exit on airfares, intercontinental fares, Denmark's aviation tax, and efforts to boost tourism after Ryanair’s withdrawal are ongoing, with community discussions in the comments section and questions or suggestions sent to news@our website.
