Ryanair has chosen Albania as its next growth engine, confirming on 20 January that it will station a fourth Boeing 737-800 in Tirana from April 2026 and open 20 new routes—Dublin among them—for the Summer 2026 season. The move represents a US$400 million investment and will lift the Irish carrier’s Tirana network to 43 destinations, pushing annual traffic to four million passengers, a 50 % jump year-on-year.
The expansion underscores a strategic pivot toward non-EU markets that offer low aviation taxes. Albania scrapped its passenger-flight tax last year, allowing Ryanair to undercut legacy rivals by up to 30 %. For Irish corporates with manufacturing or IT partners in the Western Balkans, the nonstop Dublin–Tirana service cuts door-to-door journey times by at least three hours compared with one-stop itineraries via Vienna or Rome.
Albania’s government hopes the added capacity will accelerate FDI inflows. According to the Albanian Investment Development Agency, Irish and UK firms have already earmarked €120 million for near-shore software hubs in Tirana and Durres. Easier air links will also help Irish agritech exporters tapping Albania’s fast-growing retail sector, which posted 14 % year-on-year expansion in 2025.
![Ryanair to launch 20 new routes from Tirana, including Dublin link, in US$400 m Albanian expansion]()
For travellers plotting these new routes, navigating visa formalities can be just as crucial as securing an airfare. VisaHQ’s Ireland portal (https://www.visahq.com/ireland/) offers a quick way for Irish citizens and corporate mobility teams to verify Albania’s entry requirements, arrange e-visas, and access real-time updates on neighbouring Balkan markets—streamlining staff deployments as these air links come online.
Ryanair says the Tirana base will ultimately grow to six aircraft by 2030, supporting over 4,000 local jobs. The airline has launched a three-day sale with 100,000 seats from €29.99 to stimulate early demand. Mobility managers should flag that the route will be summer-seasonal at first; winter continuity will depend on load-factor performance.
From a policy perspective, the announcement pressures Dublin Airport, which is still subject to a 32-million passenger cap, to facilitate further long-thin point-to-point routes. Failure to relax the cap could see Ryanair base new aircraft elsewhere, diluting Ireland’s connectivity dividend.
The expansion underscores a strategic pivot toward non-EU markets that offer low aviation taxes. Albania scrapped its passenger-flight tax last year, allowing Ryanair to undercut legacy rivals by up to 30 %. For Irish corporates with manufacturing or IT partners in the Western Balkans, the nonstop Dublin–Tirana service cuts door-to-door journey times by at least three hours compared with one-stop itineraries via Vienna or Rome.
Albania’s government hopes the added capacity will accelerate FDI inflows. According to the Albanian Investment Development Agency, Irish and UK firms have already earmarked €120 million for near-shore software hubs in Tirana and Durres. Easier air links will also help Irish agritech exporters tapping Albania’s fast-growing retail sector, which posted 14 % year-on-year expansion in 2025.
For travellers plotting these new routes, navigating visa formalities can be just as crucial as securing an airfare. VisaHQ’s Ireland portal (https://www.visahq.com/ireland/) offers a quick way for Irish citizens and corporate mobility teams to verify Albania’s entry requirements, arrange e-visas, and access real-time updates on neighbouring Balkan markets—streamlining staff deployments as these air links come online.
Ryanair says the Tirana base will ultimately grow to six aircraft by 2030, supporting over 4,000 local jobs. The airline has launched a three-day sale with 100,000 seats from €29.99 to stimulate early demand. Mobility managers should flag that the route will be summer-seasonal at first; winter continuity will depend on load-factor performance.
From a policy perspective, the announcement pressures Dublin Airport, which is still subject to a 32-million passenger cap, to facilitate further long-thin point-to-point routes. Failure to relax the cap could see Ryanair base new aircraft elsewhere, diluting Ireland’s connectivity dividend.
