Ryanair cuts Dublin winter flights

Ryanair is to reduce the number of flights it operates at Dublin airport this winter after deciding to relocate two of its aircraft…

Ryanair is to reduce the number of flights it operates at Dublin airport this winter after deciding to relocate two of its aircraft to locations with lower tourist taxes and airport charges.

The company will operate 12 aircraft from Dublin this winter compared to 14 last year, a 15 per cent reduction in capacity. A spokeswoman for the airline denied the move was due to a fall in bookings.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary today also called for the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) to transfer its new terminal to Nama, saying that it made no sense to open the facility when passenger numbers were down.

Mr O’Leary also repeated a call for the Government to scrap the €10 tourist tax. He described Terminal 2 as the perfect example of Ireland's recent property bubble. "It is badly designed, badly located, massively oversized and effectively bankrupt," he claimed.

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He claimed the DAA had "wasted €1.2 billion" on an unnecessary facility it can’t pay for and was forcing all passengers to subsidise it.

The DAA responded to Mr O'Leary's claims by saying the airline’s decision to cut services was not related to passenger charges and accused Ryanair of again misrepresenting the cost of T2.

“The overall T2 project, which includes the new passenger terminal, the new boarding gate facility known as Pier E, a new energy centre, new aircraft parking stands and a major upgrade of Dublin Airport’s internal road network, is costing just over €600 million.”

A Department of Transport commissioned study in 2006 by independent consultants Boyd Creed Sweett estimated the cost of T2 at €395 million with ancillary works, such as road upgrades, bringing the overall cost of the project to €609 million.

A DAA spokesman added that this year’s passenger charge was 25 per cent lower than the average €12.50 passenger charge levied in 2008 by European airports such as Gatwick, Brussels, Copenhagen, Lisbon, Vienna and Munich.

"Ryanair claims that Dublin Airport’s €9.32 passenger charge is damaging business and yet Ryanair has just added a €10 surcharge, which is a 33 per cent increase, onto checked luggage for July and August.

“The €10 family bag charge is on top of the €30 that Ryanair charges customers to check in a bag for a return flight. Since 2006, Ryanair has increased some of its ancillary charges by up to 700 per cent," it added.

The authority’s spokesman said T2 was being built without any State funding and would improve the passenger experience at Dublin Airport for decades.

He added that "Dublin Airport is, and has been, good for Ryanair’s business over the past 20 years and the profits made from its Dublin routes have been a key factor in the airline’s international expansion," it added.

The reduction in Dublin flights by Ryanair comes after the airline said last month it would cut its UK winter capacity by 16 per cent from November, in this case blaming the UK government's air passenger duty and claiming the move would lower its costs and boost profits.

Mr O'Leary also said Ryanair would "hang on" to its shares in Aer Lingus, in which it has a 29.8 per cent stake.

"Unless somebody comes along and makes us a very generous offer for the Aer Lingus shares, we have every intention of holding on to them," he said.

Additional reporting Reuters