Ryanair is to end flights to four destinations and reduce the frequency of services to eight others in a move that it claims is a response to rising Government charges.
In a statement today Ryanair said it would end its Dublin to Basel, Doncaster, Oporto and Teesside routes in July. The number of flights to eight other destinations including Aberdeen, Biarritz and Carcassonne will be reduced.
The combined impact of the moves will see 250 jobs lost, 50 of which were based in Dublin, and a reduction in the number of aircraft based in Dublin from 22 to 17, the airline said in a statement.
Ryanair says the move will result in a 23 per cent fall in its passenger traffic in Dublin, from 10.8 million to 8.3 million.
The airline claimed the decision was a reaction to the €10 tourist tax and a proposed increase in air traffic control charges.
Michael O'Leary, Ryanair’s chief executive, described the increases as “impossible to justify” in a year when inflation will be negative.
He said the airline would announce further cuts to its winter schedule later in the year.
Mr O'Leary also said he plans to formally accuse Aer Lingus of market manipulation.
"We are preparing a formal complaint of market manipulation," he told reporters.
"I wouldn't be surprised if certain Aer Lingus shareholders were considering taking legal action against the board," he said, adding Ryanair had not been coordinating its plans for complaint with any other investors.
Ryanair said last week it would make a series of complaints to the London and Irish stock exchanges and regulators about Aer Lingus' forecast in December that it would post a pretax profit before exceptional costs in both 2008 and 2009.
Aer Lingus said last week that by this measure it had made it into the black in 2008, but it was unlikely to do so in 2009, sending its shares down 27 percent, less than half of Ryanair's failed bid offer.
Ryanair made an offer of €1.40 euro a share or €750 million in December, basing its offer on the argument that Aer Lingus would not survive as an independent airline. Aer Lingus responded with the positive forecast.
Almost no one responded to the offer and Ryanair pulled it in January after the Government, which holds a 25 percent stake in the airline, rejected the bid on competition and valuation grounds.
Ryanair was not specifically aiming for financial compensation, Mr O'Leary said.
Asked what he hoped to achieve with the complaint, he said: "We would like to require in future that any document produced by Aer Lingus will be truthful and accurate and not blatantly misleading shareholders and the marketplace."