BUDGET AIRLINE BLOW TO CITY
Fears for 300 jobs as Ryanair ditches routes from Glasgow
RYANAIR is to slash routes from Glasgow Airport to just THREE – putting hundreds of jobs at risk.
AROUND 300 jobs are at risk and 500,000 travellers have been delivered a blow after airline giants Ryanair announced it will close its city base, reducing routes from Glasgow Airport to just three.
The Glasgow International Airport operation for the Irish firm will now offer three routes to Dublin (three times a day), Krakow (twice weekly) and Wroclaw (twice weekly).
Previously 23 routes were available to passengers travelling out of Glasgow Airport.
The move will take effect from November, with passengers able to travel on the existing routes until then.
Ryanair currently offer a variety of routes from Glasgow to countries including France, Malta, Denmark, Morocco, Lithuania, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
But those routes have been slashed after the firm made the announcement at a press conference today in Edinburgh.
Ryanair’s Chief Commercial Officer, David O’Brien cited Air Passenger Duty as the reason for the decision, which he says will affect up to 300 jobs in total.
He said: “Ryanair regrets these cuts in the weaker Glasgow market where efforts to stimulate low fare demand are severely hampered by the continuing burden of Air Passenger Duty.
“As a result, we will transfer our Glasgow International based aircraft to Edinburgh in November where we will offer 11 new low fare routes (45 in total including London Stansted) and deliver over 3.5m passengers per annum at Edinburgh Airport.”
Five routes are to be transferred to Edinburgh Airport and the capital will host 45 routes including 11 new ones.
Ryanair opened a new base at Glasgow Airport in autumn 2014, one of several new bases opened across Europe that year.
At the time it said it remained committed to Prestwick Airport, continuing to offer flights from there.
Describing itself as Europe’s first and largest low fares airline, Ryanair carries more than 130 million customers a year on more than 2,000 daily flights from 87 bases.
A spokesman for Glasgow Airport said: “We are bitterly disappointed at this decision by Ryanair, which is not only damaging for Glasgow and wider Scottish connectivity, it will impact approximately 100 jobs locally.
“This is a result of the airline’s review of its single aircraft bases, however, we have been left in no doubt it is also a consequence of the Scottish Government’s inability to introduce its proposed 50% cut in Air Departure Tax.”
Stuart Patrick, chief executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, said the decision is “quite surprising”.
Mr Patrick said: “We’re extremely disappointed by this announcement and our immediate concern is for the people whose jobs may be affected as a result.
“Glasgow Airport has undergone a period of significant growth so to hear a carrier is choosing to reduce its services is quite surprising. The city’s hotel occupancy figures reaffirm this level of traffic.”