Ryanair adds five Swedish routes but warns rising charges could threaten future growth

Ryanair has announced what it calls a record winter 2026 schedule for Sweden, with 43 routes and an eighth aircraft based in the country. The additional Boeing 737 will be stationed at Stockholm Arlanda. The airline expects to carry 4.6 million passengers annually in Sweden, up 16%, and values its based-aircraft investment at US$800 million.

The five new routes are Stockholm–Rabat, Stockholm–Warsaw, Stockholm–Wroc?aw, Gothenburg–Budapest and Malmö–London. Ryanair says its Swedish operations support more than 3,600 jobs.

Alongside the expansion, the airline warned that future growth could be at risk from rising airport costs. Ryanair claims Swedavia’s charges have increased by 22% since Sweden abolished its aviation tax in July 2025, and says the security fee is due to rise by 67% from March 2027. It is urging the government to restore airport charges to 2024 levels and abolish the security fee permanently.

Ryanair says it would like to double its annual Swedish traffic to eight million passengers by 2030 and base five more aircraft in the country. Chief executive Eddie Wilson cautioned, however, that those plans depend on Sweden remaining competitive with other European markets.