Airing Monday 16 March 2026 at 9.35pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player
Turbulence – The Story of Ryanair is a two-part series telling the forty-year climb of Ryanair’s ascension from a single route airline to a giant of European aviation. Featuring insiders, commentators and former staff, the series lifts the lid on the extraordinary story of the airline brand we all love to hate.
Episode 1
Part one of this two-part documentary series tells the origin story of Ryanair, from a scrappy endeavour that challenged the protected state carrier, Aer Lingus, to bring affordable aviation to the masses. We see how Ryanair went from a single-turbo prop plane funded by aviation mogul Tony Ryan, to cracking the low-cost code and changing European travel forever. Charting the path of the disrupter airline and a nation on its knees, the documentary follows the endeavour, ruthlessness and unique Irish grit it took to build this extraordinary story.
Watch Episode 1 on Monday 16 March 2026 at 9.35pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player, with Episode 2 airing on Monday 23 March at the same time.
