Ryanair to launch new air links between Belgium and Romania

Budget airline Ryanair has announced the addition of two new routes from Belgium to Romania to its schedule.

Passengers could already reach Bucharest, Sibiu and Suceava from Charleroi. Now Cluj and Iaşi are being added to the list.

The plan is to offer eight fights a week to Cluj and six per week to Iaşi beginning in April 2023.

“We are delighted to launch our Summer 2023 schedule for Romania, which not only represents a full recovery of Ryanair’s pre-Covid capacity in Romania, but post-Covid growth of 50%, operating over 370 flights per week across 41 routes including to new airports like Iași,” Ryanair commercial director Jason McGuinness said.

“This is in stark contrast to other carriers who are cutting capacity or exiting the market entirely. Ryanair looks forward to offering even more options to Romanian citizens and visitors who are looking to book with confidence.”

This news comes just months after Ryanair threatened to stop operating in Belgium entirely after Belgian pilots and cabin crew held strikes over wages so low they are potentially in violation of the law.

The summer saw multiple strikes for Belgium-based pilots, who cited a post-pandemic high workload in addition to low wages as being cause for discontent.

Making no mention of the struggles Ryanair has had in Belgium, McGuinness added: "Our customers can now plan their Summer 2023 holidays with many exciting destinations on offer, including new routes to European cities such as Brussels, Dublin, Paris and Milan."

Many customers this past summer were left high and dry when the strikes resulted in cancelled flights.

According to Ryanair, this expansion of summer offerings means an almost €200 million investment and support for "more than 800 jobs".