Ryanair Snub Basel Cancelling 18 Weekly Cheap Flights
Cheap flights provider Ryanair has pulled out of Swiss airport Basel over a row about airport charges failed to find a resolution.
Ryanair flies more routes in Europe than any other carrier, which gives the airline considerable clout when it comes to bargaining with airports over fees and carrier charges. Airports in Spain and Amsterdam have buckled to pressure from Ryanair when the Irish airline has threatened to remove its considerable business from their airports.
Basel Airport was resolute however, and as a result Ryanair have pulled 18 weekly flights from its schedule away from the airport, resulting in a quarter of a million fewer passengers visiting the Swiss destination. Six routes will cease to operate from 2 December 2009 including flights to Porto taking passengers on their family holidays to Portugal and flights to Alicante, near the Costa Brava.
Routes from Italy’s Cagliari, Marseille in France and Stockholm in Sweden will also be cancelled, as will the British connection from Stansted to Basel.
Ryanair spokesman Stephen McNamara said in a press release: “Ryanair had offered new routes, traffic and growth to Basel Airport but since they prefer to preserve their high cost base than to grow, Ryanair will now close all its Basel routes resulting in the loss of 250,000 passengers p.a. and up to 250 jobs at Basel.”
Last week Ryanair announced its October passenger figures which it claimed were four times as big as rival British Airways. Ryanair carried 6.2 million passengers last month.
The airline has promised that all passengers affected by the cancelled routes who have pre-booked flights to and from Basel will be given a full refund.
Airlines and Airport News posted by Alicia Cruise on 10 November 2009
