Ryanair cuts aircraft by 40% from Stansted

Ryanair is cutting the number of planes flying out of Stansted Airport  by 40% this winter.   The number of aircraft based at the BAA airport will be reduced from October to 24 from 40 being flown this summer. This will result in a 30% reduction in the number of weekly flights and a loss of 2.5 million passengers between October and March 2010, the low fares carrier claims. The airline has cited the "unfair" airport charges and passenger taxes as one of the main reasons for the move.  

CEO Michael O’Leary attacked high charges at the airport and government plans to raise Air Passenger Duty from November from £10 to £11 on European flights.

It is normal for airlines to cut their capacity in the winter months, as demand is not as high, but not on such a large scale.

Ryanair would not say which routes would be affected, although they have said that around 2,500 jobs will be lost at the airport, mainly amongst staff working for companies serving the airport and airport personnel. No Ryanair crew or cabin would be affected it said, as they would be transferred to other airports. Ryanair said that the change, which it estimates will lead to a loss of 2.5 million passengers at Stansted between October and March, was a response to the Government's failure to scrap tourist taxes and introduce lower, more competitive fees at hubs controlled by BAA, the Spanish-owned group that controls Britain's major airports including Stansted, Heathrow and Gatwick.

Ryanair, which operates more than 100 routes from Stansted, is struggling with fierce competition and this month gave a bleak insight that profits in the second half of this year would be nil, or even negative. The airline's load factor, the measure of the proportion of seats that it fills on its flights, fell 2 per cent last month. Ryanair has continually blamed weakening demand for flights on higher taxes and airport charges along with rising interest rates and passenger frustration with security delays

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