Ryanair takes the axe to Edinburgh hub

April 12, 2012
Irish no-frills airline, Ryanair, today said it is to close eight routes and 60 weekly flights to and from Edinburgh over what it says are high airport costs levied by operator, BAA.

Irish no-frills airline, Ryanair, today said it is to close eight routes and 60 weekly flights to and from Edinburgh over what it says are high airport costs levied by operator, BAA.

It said it was axing flights to Bratislava in Slovakia, Bremen and Frankfurt in Germany, Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands, Gothenburg in Sweden, Kaunas in Lithuania, and Lodz and Poznan in Poland.

The move comes just two months after the airline halted five of their summer routes.

Ryanair claims the latest round of closures will equate to 500,000 less passengers going through the airport every year and lead to 500 jobs "on-site" losses. The 60 flights a week will stop running from October 2012 and deputy CEO Michael Cawley said the company hoped to reverse the cuts if operators BAA reduce their costs. "Ryanair regrets BAA Edinburgh Airport's rejection of our proposals for a competitive cost base which would allow Ryanair to further grow our traffic and routes for winter 2012 and beyond. Sadly, BAA Edinburgh seems to prefer higher costs, even if it means fewer passengers and jobs at Edinburgh," said deputy CEO Michael Cawley. "While Ryanair remains committed to Edinburgh Airport (with 1.3m passengers and 17 routes this winter, we remain one of the largest airlines operating to/from Edinburgh), the BAA Edinburgh monopoly cannot continue to ignore the competitive marketplace, where airports all over the UK and Europe have been reducing costs and lowering charges in return for traffic growth. We hope there is a way to reverse these cuts to ensure further Ryanair growth at Edinburgh."

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