Ryanair says it may cut routes at Prestwick

www.ryanair.com

Low-cost carrier Ryanair has threatened Prestwick Airport with a reduction in routes, which would add to the downturn in passenger traffic it is already experiencing.

The Irish budget airline said all of its 28 routes from the airport in Ayrshire were currently “under review” after the carrier held talks with airport management to discuss the facility’s performance.

Ryanair’s UK marketing executive, Maria Macken, stressed that a relocation of the routes to other European airports was likely unless Prestwick would offer additional support to the no-frills carrier.

She said that government taxes on passengers were adding to Ryanair’s operating costs, asserting that the airline was subsidising ticket prices.

“We’re having to lower our fares in order to get people flying. But that’s not sustainable,” she said. “If we feel we can get better value elsewhere, we will do that. If we can operate for less, we will do that. That’s why we’re calling on the airport and government to get rid of costs.”

Prestwick and Edinburgh are Ryanair’s two operating bases in Scotland. Prestwick reported a 9.6 per cent decline in passenger traffic for January, as compared with the same month in 2008.

Although the downturn in air travel has been affecting airports across the UK, Ryanair’s position on Prestwick is substantially different than on Edinburgh, where it recently announced that it was adding 10 European routes.

Thanks to www.theherald.co.uk for the above quotes, for more information on this article please visit their website.

www.ryanair.com