Ryanair becomes most popular carrier at Toulouse airport
Several low-cost carriers are targeting the French city with route expansions
The airline serves more than 30 destinations from Toulouse
Toni. M / Shutterstock
Irish airline Ryanair has become the leading carrier to serve Toulouse-Blagnac airport, narrowly ahead of French flagship carrier Air France.
The budget airline has 24% of the passenger share, ahead of 23% for Air France – historically the largest airline at Toulouse – and points towards a further expansion of low-cost offerings at the airport.
In 2018, the airline’s market share at the airport was 9%, meaning it has nearly tripled in the last seven years, data in a recent report from the airport shows.
Ryanair flies to 33 destinations from Toulouse, including five UK and one Irish airport.
The airline has cut several French routes for the summer 2026 season, but Toulouse has not been impacted.
In 2025, Toulouse - known as the Pink City - was the sixth busiest airport in France, with over 7.6 million passengers.
Low-cost carriers target Toulouse
Toulouse’s close links with the aerospace industry have helped boost the airport’s status within the aviation industry, however in 2025 easyJet’s decision to close its base there led to concerns over future flight schedules.
EasyJet continues to offer several routes to and from the city, including to London Gatwick and Bristol.
In addition to easyJet and Ryanair, low-cost rivals Transavia (part of the Air France-KLM group) and Volotea (a Spanish carrier) are also targeting the city with new routes.
Transavia is set to take over Air France’s position at Paris Orly, and in turn will offer up to eight daily flights to Toulouse from the capital.
It will offer 650,000 seats on flights to and from Toulouse per year, the vast majority (575,000) to Paris Orly.
Volotea will position a second aircraft at Toulouse from May 2026, increasing the number of seats to 700,000 annually.
For the 2026-2027 winter season, Volotea will offer three new routes from Toulouse to Pisa, Fuerteventura, and Gran Canaria, as well as double the number of services to Lille.
It means the carrier will serve a total of 21 destinations from Toulouse.
Despite this increase, however, the airport has a better balance between low-cost and other flight types than many French counterparts.
Low-cost carriers account for around half of the total traffic at Toulouse, compared to 81% in Nantes, 72% in Bordeaux, and 55% in Marseille, the latest report from the UAF (French Airports Union) shows.
This is up from 43% in 2018, showing only partial growth for low-cost carriers at Toulouse.
The airport is “less dependent than other major regional hubs on the presence of low-cost carriers,” said Bruno Balerdi, Commercial Director of the airport in 2025.
By contrast, several smaller regional airports in France are reportedly under threat due to their reliance on low-cost flights.
