Ryanair to scale back Stansted capacity by 40% citing high airport charges

RYANAIR is to cut capacity at London’s Stansted Airport by 40% for its winter schedule and is likely to follow it with cuts at Dublin Airport.

Stansted is one of the airline’s most expensive hubs. Yesterday’s move – which could see 2,500 ground staff jobs cut at the airport – will see the budget airline operate 24 aircraft at Stansted between October and next March; down from the 40 it is currently operating as part of its summer schedule. However, the move isn’t a huge winter departure for Ryanair. The company only operated 28 aircraft at Stansted last winter. The expected job losses are likely to relate to ground staff, with the affected aircraft crew likely to be redeployed. Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary said the plans were in response to what his company sees as the high airport charges being charged by Stansted’s owner, BAA, and the British government’s £10 travel tax on passenger air fares.

“In recent months, the Belgian, Dutch, Greek and Spanish governments have all scrapped tourist taxes and/or reduced airport charges to zero in order to stimulate tourism. These cutbacks underline the urgent need to break up the high-cost BAA airport monopoly, as has been recommended by the UK Competition Commission and to scrap [British prime minister] Gordon Brown’s insane and damaging £10 tourist tax which has caused UK traffic to collapse,” Mr O’Leary said.