Route And Flight Cuts At Dubl

RNS Number : 9020O

Ryanair Holdings PLC

16 March 2009

 



RYANAIR ANNOUNCES MORE ROUTE AND FLIGHT CUTS AT DUBLIN AS GOVT OWNED IAA RAISES FEES 12%

Ryanair, Ireland's largest airline, today (16th Mar 09) announced a further series of route, flight and frequency cuts at Dublin Airport from July, as the impact of the €10 tourist tax and other Government price hikes cause numbers at Dublin to decline - down 12% in February alone.  Ryanair confirmed that these latest cuts were being implemented in response to the decision of the Government owned Irish Aviation Authority to increase ATC charges by 12% this summer, at more than 12 times the rate of inflation.

From July 2009 Ryanair will close four routes from Dublin to Basel, Doncaster, Oporto and Teesside, and reduce frequencies on eight more routes from Dublin to Aberdeen, Biarritz, Billund, Bournemouth, Carcassonne, East Midlands, Malaga and Rome (Ciampino). These cuts will result in one additional based aircraft (five in total) being switched from high cost Dublin Airport to a low cost Ryanair European base in July.

Ryanair's latest cuts at Dublin for summer 2009 will see:

• A 22% cut in Dublin based aircraft (from 22 to 17).

• A 20% cut in weekly rotations (from over 700 to under 600).

• A 23% drop in Ryanair's Dublin traffic (10.8m to 8.3m pax in 2009/10). 

• The loss of 50 Dublin based jobs (250 in total).

• Further cuts in Ryanair's Dublin winter schedule will be announced later.

Announcing these further Dublin cuts today, Ryanair's Michael O'Leary said:

'This latest 12% increase in Government owned ATC charges at Dublin Airport is another nail in the coffin of Irish tourism.  These increases have been rubber-stamped yet again by Ireland's useless Aviation Regulator, Cathal Guiomard, proving again how useless he is and that he should be sacked. How can any regulator approve a 12% increase in ATC charges in a year when inflation will be negative?  This is impossible to justify.

'These IAA increases show that this gutless Government has no interest in Irish tourism.  Over the last three months traffic at Dublin Airport has declined by 12%, with 500,000 fewer passengers, and this collapse will get worse from April when the Government €10 travel tax and these IAA increases come in.

'These massive Government cost increases prove that this Government is devastating the tourism industry. Already this year the DAA has increased airport charges, increased wheelchair charges, is double charging for kiosk installation and now the Government and its clueless Regulator allows the IAA to raise ATC charges by 12%, when inflation is at 0%.

'At a time when Governments and airports all over Europe are reducing costs in order to stimulate tourism, the Irish Government is raising costs and introducing taxes which can only damage tourism. Ryanair calls again on the Irish Government to promote tourism by scrapping the travel tax and sacking Cathal Guiomard, the useless and incompetent Aviation Regulator.'

CANCELLED

Basel

Doncaster

Oporto

Teesside

 

REDUCTIONS

Aberdeen

Biarritz

Billund

Bournemouth

Carcassonne

East Midlands

For further information

please contact:            Stephen McNamara        Pauline McAlester

                                     Ryanair Ltd                     Murray Consultants

                                    Tel: [phone]        Tel. [phone]

 

END

 

 

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