Ryanair’s Next Big Hangar Is Going Up in Shannon

Clare County Council granted planning permission on October 22 for a 50 million euro Ryanair aircraft maintenance facility at Shannon Airport. The project sits on a 6.7-acre site and includes a four-bay maintenance, repair and overhaul hangar with more than 15,000 square meters of maintenance and ancillary space.

Alongside the hangar, Ryanair plans a new engineering academy with 80 apprenticeship roles and training for more than 400 additional aircraft mechanics between 2027 and 2031. The airline first announced the project in July, and reports describe it as its largest maintenance facility in Ireland.

Construction is expected to start in early 2027, with the facility opening in late 2028. Ryanair says it needs the capacity as it begins receiving the first of 300 new Boeing MAX 10 aircraft in early 2027, a jet the FAA certified just last week.

Passengers will not see the work directly, but airline maintenance capacity affects reliability, since aircraft that can be serviced at home bases spend less time waiting for hangar space. For Shannon it is also a sizable investment at a time when Irish regional airports are competing for airline growth.

Sources: Irish Examiner, Aviation Week