Ryanair Announces Major Investment at Glasgow Prestwick Airport
Ryanair has revealed a £40 million investment programme aimed at expanding its operations at Glasgow Prestwick Airport, which is expected to generate 450 new jobs.
The airline plans to enhance its existing maintenance facilities located in South Ayrshire by constructing a new four-bay hangar along with additional component workshops. This expansion will increase Ryanair's maintenance capacity at Prestwick Airport from six bays to ten, establishing it as the airline's largest maintenance base in Europe.
Included in the new employment opportunities are 60 apprenticeship positions, further emphasizing Ryanair's commitment to workforce development. The expanded maintenance facility is projected to support over 1,200 engineering and mechanic roles throughout Ayrshire, offering significant long-term employment and training prospects.
The range of skilled positions to be created encompasses aircraft mechanics, avionics specialists, structures technicians, and supervisory engineering roles.
This development follows a prior £5 million investment in Ryanair's Prestwick Training Academy, which commenced operations in October 2024.
Statements from Ryanair and Government Officials
Ryanair's Chief Executive Officer, Eddie Wilson, commented on the expansion:
"This new state-of-the-art, four-bay hangar and component workshops will make Prestwick our largest heavy maintenance facility.
It will be a key part of how we will maintain and support our fleet as we continue to grow to 800 aircraft and 300 million passengers by 2034."
The UK government is contributing £4.9 million towards the construction of the new hangar as part of a broader £32 million investment in the Prestwick Aerospace Cluster, which aims to establish Ayrshire as a premier aerospace hub within the UK.
Additionally, the Scottish government and Scottish Enterprise are jointly investing over £15 million to facilitate the extension of Ryanair's maintenance facilities.
First Minister John Swinney expressed his support for the project:
"I am delighted that Scottish government investment will support the creation of 450 skilled jobs at Prestwick, which will have a major economic impact in Ayrshire and beyond.
Ryanair has chosen to expand at Prestwick because of the talent and expertise on the ground and it is testament to the skills of the existing workforce.
My government will continue to do everything in our power to support the creation of good jobs and to support economic growth in Scotland."
