Ryanair to terminate 9 out of 10 routes from Manchester Airport from October 1, 2009

Ryanair, the low-fare airline based in Dublin, Ireland, has decided to cancel 90% of routes it operates currently from Manchester Airport from October 1, 2009, because of what the airline describes as Manchester Airport’s refusal to reduce airport charges.This leaves Ryanair with only one route from Manchester Airport – to Dublin Airport.

Ryanair’s changes at Manchester Airport, the 4th biggest airport in the United Kingdom, will affect 44 flights a week and around 600,000 passengers a year.

In a statement, Ryanair, the biggest budget carrier in Europe in terms of passengers carried, said it would either close down or switch to other locations 9 out of its 10 routes at Manchester Airport, situated in Manchester, Lancashire, the United Kingdom.

The airline announced that it would change some of the affected routes to East Midlands Airport (the sister airport of Manchester Airport), Leeds Bradford International Airport, and Liverpool Airport.

The 9 routes from Manchester Airport that Ryanair will terminate are those to:

1. Barcelona Girona Airport (Spain)
2. Bremen Airport (Germany)
3. Cagliari Airport (Italy)
4. Brussels Charleroi Airport (Belgium)
5. Weeze Airport in Dusseldorf (Germany)
6. Frankfurt-Hahn Airport (Germany)
7. Marseille Airport (France)
8. Shannon Airport (Irelan
9. Milan Bergamo Airport (Italy)

Those passengers affected by the changes, Rayanir added, would be contacted via e-mail and given a full refund, or, in the alternative, the option of flying to destinations from airports at East Midlands, Liverpool, and Leeds Bradford.

Ryanair said it had offered Manchester Airport an additional 28 weekly flights if the airport agreed to reduce its charges, but the airport had rejected the offer.

BBC News quoted an official of Manchester Airport as remarking that the airport charge “as low as £3 a passenger,” which Ryanair has demanded, is “unreasonable” and that the airport has “consistently reduced charges” for the last 15 years “even in the face of increased costs like security.”

Aviation analysts see Ryanair’s move as a part of the carrier’s “continued push” to force reduction in airport fees in Europe in the midst of the global economic slump.

Ryanair said in the statement that cancelling 90% of routes at Manchester Airport would result in the loss of 600 local jobs. BBC News quoted Geoff Muirhead, chief executive of the Manchester Airport Group, as saying that “the damage will be limited’ and that Ryanair’s decision is “regrettable.”

A month ago, Ryanair had said that it would reduce flights from Stansted Airport in London by 30% over the winter period – again, following a disagreement over airport charges.