30 AUGUST 2021

Index


© 2022 Business Travel News Ltd.

Article from BTNews 30 AUGUST 2021

Ryanair leaves Northern Ireland

Dublin-based Ryanair is ending operations at both of Belfast’s airports, blaming the UK Government’s “refusal to suspend or reduce” Air Passenger Duty (APD). The Irish carrier also cited a “lack of Covid recovery incentives” at each airport for the withdrawal.

Flights from Belfast City Airport (BHD) will end in September and from Belfast International (BFS) in October. The airline had already retreated from Londonderry (LDY) in December 2020.

In a statement, Ryanair said that aircraft stationed in Belfast would be “reallocated to lower cost airports elsewhere in the UK and Europe for the winter schedule which starts in November.”

Ryanair currently serves eight seasonal destinations from Belfast City and six from Belfast International, providing 38 and 13 weekly departures respectively.

Ryanair has long lobbied for APD – a tax on all passenger flights from UK airports – to be removed or reduced. Group CEO Michael O’Leary in June called for the tax to be suspended for two to three years until traffic levels return to pre-pandemic levels.

Long-time observers of Ryanair will probably not believe the statement.  Dublin is only around 100 miles from Belfast and for many passengers the change of airport will make little difference.  It might be for consolidation purposes, but the media will, for the first time in15 months, be able to question Mr O’Leary, down to appear at a London press conference tomorrow (Tuesday 31 August).  Other airlines will look at the abandoned routes.   

www.ryanair.com

Index/Home page
 

OUR READERS' FINEST WORDS (All times and dates are GMT)

All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 100 words maximum


www.btnews.co.uk