Ryanair cutting Cork Airport flights

The Irish budget carrier announced this week that its daily flights from the Cork Airport to the East Midlands and Glasgow Prestwick airports will be discontinued from the end of October.

The airline’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, has blamed the increase in fees charged by Cork Airport for the decision to cut the services.

O’Leary said: “We regret that we have to close these two daily routes to and from Cork. However, a 20 per cent increase in airport charges on these routes reduces our ability to offer really low fares at a time of higher oil prices and these higher costs will make these two new routes loss-making this winter.”

These were the most recent in a series of routes to be cut by Ryanair, as it and its rivals struggle to deal with the high costs of fuel and drop in passenger demand.

In recent weeks, Ryanair has announced the discontinuation of 250 services during the coming winter season, while rival easyJet has cut capacity at Stansted by 12 per cent.

British Airways is also cutting back over the winter, and the tend toward grounding aircraft is being felt globally, as carriers seek to cut operating costs as demand remains low due to gloomy economic conditions.

www.ryanair.com