Ryanair buys most of the homes in new Dublin estate to rent to cabin crew

Ryanair has bought most of the homes in a new estate close to Dublin Airport to rent them to crew in a bid to combat the impact of the Republic’s housing crisis on its operations.

The airline recently signalled that it would consider buying homes to rent them to staff as a lack of affordable accommodation here was hindering its ability to hire flight crews.

Ryanair confirmed on Thursday that it had bought “25 new-built units in Fosterstown, Swords” to provide affordable rents for new cabin crew in Dublin Airport, where it operates up to 33 aircraft.

“This accommodation, which is located one bus stop from Dublin Airport, will be rented at affordable rates to Ryanair cabin crew during their first year of employment,” the statement said, confirming a report in the Business Post.

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Ryanair noted that in recent years the absence of affordable rental accommodation had been a major impediment to hiring and training new Irish and European cabin crew.

The company did not say how much it was paying, although property industry figures indicate it could be between €8.5 million and €10 million.

Family homes in the area sell for €350,000 to slightly more than €400,000. Swords is a popular location for house buyers, partly because it is close to the airport and large numbers of other big employers.

Sources suggest Ryanair should have been able to get better terms than average market prices on the basis that it has pledged to bulk buy the properties, giving the developer a guaranteed quick return and reducing their risk.

The company did not indicate what rents it would charge, beyond saying they would be affordable and indicating that this meant a discount to current rates.

Renting a room in a house in the Swords or north Co Dublin area could vary between €600 and €800 a month, on the basis of what is currently available on property websites.

Those figures increase for properties closer to the city centre or to areas such as Malahide.

Built by Dublin-based MKN, which could not be contacted for a comment, Fosterstown Place has 28 three- and four-bedroom terraced and semidetached houses, with back gardens.

The new estate is about 3.5km from the airport, close to bus routes and is a 20-minute drive to Dublin city centre.

Ryanair is due to publish financial results for the three months ended December 31st, the third quarter of its financial year, on January 29th.

The Irish airline, which is Europe’s biggest carrier, has told industry analysts that in general it has no difficulty hiring the pilots and crew that it needs. However, it has highlighted problems in specific countries, including the Republic’s accommodation issue and some impact from Brexit in the UK.

Ryanair expects to earn profit of between €1.85 billion and €2.05 billion in its current financial year, which ends on March 31st.