Ryanair’s exit from Billund means good opportunities for other airlines; 72% of routes are unserved

Denmark has been part of Ryanair’s network for over a quarter of a century. It began flying to Aarhus in 1999, followed by Esbjerg. Billund flights materialised in 2006, followed by Copenhagen in 2015 and Aalborg in 2017. However, it pulled out of Esbjerg in 2007, while it will cease Aalborg and Billund flights in March 2025.

Billund flights cease at the end of W24; many good opportunities for other airlines

Ryanair’s first Billund service was in November 2006 from Frankfurt HHN, Madrid and Pisa. Its base opened in 2012 (closed in 2015) and reopened in 2021. Cirium schedules information shows that it plans 11 routes in early Q1 2025, as shown below, with 48-weekly one-way flights in mid-March:

• London STN: 15-weekly
• Malaga: 6
• Krakow: 6
• Alicante: 5
• Barcelona: 3
• Gdansk: 3
• Milan BGY: 2
• Budapest: 2
• Manchester: 2
• Malta: 2
• Vienna: 2

Billund will lose flights to Budapest (served 2012-2025), Gdansk (2021-2025), Krakow (2012-2013, 2020-2025), London STN (2007-2025), Malta (2010-2025), Manchester (2019-2025), Milan BGY (and indeed any Milan airport; 2008-2025) and Vienna (2020-2025).

Many of these were served for years, suggesting strong underlining performance. British Airways will serve London Heathrow (mainly daily) and BA franchise Sun Air will fly from London LCY (mainly 4-weekly).

Only three markets will still be served: Alicante (Norwegian; weekly in the summer), Barcelona (Vueling; 2-weekly in the summer), and Malaga (Norwegian; 3-weekly). However, each of them loses substantial capacity, suggesting a good opportunity for another carrier.

Ryanair has served 52 destinations from Billund

Cirium shows that the ULCC has served 52 destinations from the Danish airport since 2006, summarised below by the start year. Some markets resumed later. For readability, the end dates are not specified.

• 2006: Frankfurt HHN, Madrid (resumed in 2022), Pisa
• 2007: Alicante, Dublin (resumed in 2019), Girona, London STN, Valencia (resumed in 2023)
• 2008: Edinburgh (resumed in 2019), Milan BGY
• 2009: Alghero (resumed in 2023), Birmingham (resumed in 2022), Rome CIA
• 2010: Brindisi, Faro, Malaga, Malta, Marseille, Trapani (resumed in 2022)
• 2011: Palma de Mallorca, Tenerife TFS
• 2012: Budapest, Carcassonne, Corfu, Krakow (resumed in 2020), Venice TSF (resumed in 2021), Zadar
• 2013: Chania (resumed in 2021)
• 2014:
• 2015:
• 2016
• 2017: Berlin SXF (airport has closed), Poznan
• 2018: Athens
• 2019: Manchester, Prague
• 2020: Vienna
• 2021: Barcelona, Bologna, Brussels CRL, Gdansk, Gothenburg, Lisbon, Memmingen, Rome FCO, Seville, Sibiu, Tallinn, Vilnius, Wroclaw
• 2022: Bari, Ibiza, Porto, Turin
• 2023: Berlin BER

Between 2006 and 2025, Billund’s 10 leading Ryanair routes were as follows. London STN was number one. It had more than one in four of Billund’s Ryanair seats and had up to 4-daily flights (in 2015), although a 3-daily service was offered on more than 900 days, including in 2025.