Ryanair is to operate 26 routes from Dusseldorf and Stuttgart starting July 1.
Many of these routes were previously flown by Ryanair Group carrier Lauda, which “will no longer offer scheduled services in its own name from Stuttgart and Dusseldorf”.
But there will also be four brand new routes, from Dusseldorf to Barcelona, Dublin and London Stansted, and from Stuttgart to Barcelona.
Prior to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Dusseldorf airport was being served by a number of carriers from London, including BA (London City and Heathrow), Easyjet (Gatwick), and Eurowings (Heathrow).
Ryanair says that the former Lauda routes will be operated on a wet lease basis by Lauda A320 aircraft until the end of the summer.
Lauda customers who have already booked on Lauda flights to or from Stuttgart or Dusseldorf in July, August and September will be transferred to Ryanair flights on the same routes and the same day, or given the option to change to Ryanair flights free of charge where their previous Lauda bookings were operating on different days.
Ryanair completed a 100 per cent takeover of Lauda in January 2019, and the airline launched routes from Vienna to Liverpool, Birmingham and Edinburgh last winter.
Last month it was announced that the carrier would be closing its Vienna base, with Ryanair Group citing “the failure of the Vida (AUA) union to sign a new CLA (Collective Labour Agreement)”. However this move was reversed after a deal was struck.