Jobs at risk as Ryanair announces decision to axe Glasgow airport base

Airline blames Government for failing to reduce Air Passenger Duty

Hundreds of jobs are under threat after budget airline Ryanair announced it is to close its base at Glasgow Airport.

The number of routes operated from Glasgow will be reduced from 23 to three, with five being transferred to Edinburgh.

The airline said it had run out of patience waiting for the Scottish Government to reduce Air Passenger Duty (APD) tax.

Glasgow Airport said it was “bitterly disappointed” by the move, with a spokesman adding there was “no doubt” that the failure to replace APD with a cheaper air departure tax (ADT) in Scotland was behind the move.

Chief commercial officer David O’Brien said 300 indirect jobs could be lost at Glasgow due to the move with a potential fall in around 500,000 passengers.

He said: “Sadly the weaker Scottish market is even weaker still in Glasgow which simply can’t bare the burden of APD at £13.

“This should not come as a surprise to the Government. We did say that our growth in Glasgow was based on their promise to abolish APD, which morphed into a promise to halve APD which suddenly has disappeared into the ether and quite frankly we don’t have any more patience, there are other markets in the UK and Europe which offer a more compelling proposition.”

Mr O’Brien added: “Passengers mean jobs and around 500,000 passengers will be lost at Glasgow pressurising around 300 jobs which will probably be lost.”

Ryanair said Brexit was also a background factor threatening Scottish tourism and the airline industry.

A spokesman for Glasgow Airport also hit out at APD.

He said: “Despite clear and repeated warnings from both airports and airlines about the potential impact of this policy not being implemented, we are now faced with a stark scenario that includes the loss of 20 services and a significant number of jobs.

“This is the second example in as many months of an airline cutting capacity in Scotland because of the lack of movement on ADT. The reality is this capacity will be reallocated elsewhere in Europe to countries with more favourable aviation taxation policies to Scotland’s detriment.”

Scottish Finance Secretary Derek Mackay said: “The Scottish Government continues to be committed to reducing ADT by 50% by the end of this Parliament and we want to get on and deliver this.”

Ryanair is quitting Glasgow.