The budget carrier launched Prime in March offering annual membership for £79 in the UK or €79 in Ireland. Members receive benefits such as free reserved seats, travel insurance and exclusive fare discounts every month.

Ryanair said it had signed up 55,000 members to the scheme, which generated €4.4m in subscription fees, but those travellers have so far received more than €6 million in fare discounts.

The airline on Friday (28 November) confirmed it was closing Prime to new members, although existing members will continue to receive access to monthly discounts until October 2026.

Dara Brady, Ryanair’s chief marketing officer, said the trial of the Prime scheme has “cost more money than it generates” since its launch. “This level of memberships or subscription revenue does not justify the time and effort it takes to launch monthly exclusive Prime seat sales for our 55,000 Prime members," said Brady.

“We are grateful to our 55,000 Prime members who signed up to this Prime trial over the last eight months, and they can rest assured that they will continue to enjoy exclusive flight and seat savings for the remainder of their 12-month membership.”