Ryanair’s launched its 2026 summer schedule for Glasgow Prestwick with ten routes including Lanzarote, Palma, Tenerife, Barcelona, and Pisa. Extra frequencies on Alicante, Faro, Malaga, Murcia. Two aircraft based there. Zoe Kilpatrick from Prestwick praised the “strong demand from Ayrshire and wider West of Scotland.”
I’ll translate: Ryanair’s still propping up an airport that the market decided was surplus to requirements years ago, and everyone’s pretending this is a success story instead of a subsidy operation dressed as commercial aviation.
Prestwick’s been haemorrhaging money for over a decade. The Scottish Government bought it in 2013 to stop it collapsing entirely, and it’s been a political albatross ever since. Every time Ryanair adds a route, someone issues a press release celebrating growth, as if voluntarily flying from Prestwick is a rational choice when Glasgow Airport exists 30 miles north.
The Ryanair Dependency
That “30+ year partnership” Prestwick keeps mentioning? That’s code for “Ryanair’s the only airline still willing to use us, and they’re probably getting a hell of a deal to do it.” Two based aircraft sounds impressive until you realise Glasgow Airport has dozens.
I’m sure there’s demand from Ayrshire. There’s also demand from Ayrshire to use Glasgow Airport, which is why most folk drive past Prestwick on the M77 to catch their flights from somewhere with more than one airline.
Admit It’s a Subsidy
If Prestwick’s commercially viable, sell it. If it’s not, admit it’s a public service obligation and fund it accordingly. But stop pretending ten Ryanair routes constitutes a thriving airport when it’s clearly life support.
The Scottish Government’s stuck. Close Prestwick and face political backlash from Ayrshire. Keep it open and watch it burn cash indefinitely. So instead we get press releases about summer schedules like this is normal airport business.
Ten routes to sunny destinations is nice. But it’s not a transport strategy, it’s a holding pattern.