Ryanair launches four new routes from La Rochelle: London and Ireland included
Popular UK route flies five times per week
A flight to the Belgian capital is also set to begin
Adam Loader/Shutterstock
Low-cost carrier Ryanair is increasing the number of flights from La Rochelle airport with four new destinations being served.
Ryanair will fly to London Stansted five times per week on Tuesdays - Saturdays until October 25.
Flights began on April 1, with one-way tickets costing from €16.99 from the official Ryanair website.
Further expansions will see flights to Dublin – (from May 1) and Cork (June 4) – three and two times per week respectively – as well as to Brussels, also twice per week.
The routes will finish by the end of October, in line with the budget carrier’s close of summer season.
Other than these summer routes, Ryanair serves three permanent destinations from La Rochelle: Porto, Marrakech, and Marseille.
Expansion and contraction
These summer routes are a major boost to the airport, as aside from the seven Ryanair routes listed above, just five services land at La Rochelle.
These are operated by fellow low-cost airline easyJet, with all but one (to Lyon) being seasonal. Included in these are flights to London Gatwick, Bristol, and Manchester.
The increase to Ryanair’s routes out of the airport come as the airline’s CEO announced a reduction in flights to and from France.
Michael O’Leary cited low passenger numbers as a reason why services to and from France would be reduced by around 5%, however La Rochelle looks set to escape this cutback.
Generally, there are warnings in France over the reliance of regional airports on low-cost routes.
Read more: Which French regional airports are faring well - and which are not
