Ryanair looks for Polish government support for ambitious growth

Ryanair is hoping that Poland's new pro-European government will support its growth plans in the country which assume a doubling in size over the next 6-8 years, CEO Michael O'Leary said on Tuesday. A new government headed by former European Council President Donald Tusk took power in Poland in December after 8 years of nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party rule. "I think the previous government were interested in holding down that growth. They didn't want Ryanair to expand, so we ran into a lot of political interference," O'Leary said. "We hope the new government will be more outward looking...the more Poland looks toward the EU...the better that will be for Poland, the Polish economy and for Ryanair's growth in Poland." The company said it plans to raise passenger numbers in Poland - the largest country in the European Union's eastern wing - by 10% to 18m this year. It announced 30 new routes from the country for a total of 300. "We have ambitious plans to double in size in Poland over the next 6-8 years but what we need here is increased infrastructure," O'Leary said.<br/>He said Ryanair had not yet met with the new government but hopes an agreement on its growth plans could be reached this year.<br/>