Low-cost Ryanair 'lands miles away from major cities'

Low-cost carrier Ryanair uses airports that are often miles away from the cities they claim to serve, the Consumers’ Association said today.

If you fly Ryanair to Bologna’s Forli airport, you will land in a little town 37 miles from Bologna, the association’s Holiday Which? magazine revealed.

Passengers taking Ryanair to the Danish capital of Copenhagen actually land at Malmo in Sweden.

The magazine added: ‘‘No-frills airline Ryanair makes a song and dance about its bargain fares on certain routes.

‘‘But it is not so outspoken about a smoke-and-mirrors technique it uses to keep prices down. What its eye-catching adverts don’t always make clear is that Ryanair - more than other no-frills airlines uses airports that are often miles away from the cities they claim to serve.’’

Rival low-fare airline Go has been running adverts pointing out that it flies to the major airports of cities while Ryanair ‘‘misleads’’ people about where it flies to.

Ryanair complained to the Advertising Standards Authority, which rejected two of the complaints but upheld a third concerning a claim by Go that Ryanair tried to hide the airport tax passengers paid.

Today, the Consumers’ Association said it would write to the ASA with its own complaints about Ryanair.

Ryanair’s marketing director Tim Jeans said today: ‘‘This report in Holiday Which? is a piece of very poorly researched nonsense.’’

He went on: ‘‘We don’t advertise flights to Copenhagen - we fly to Malmo. As for Bologna, we carry more passengers on this route than either British Airways or Go who both use the other Bologna airport.

‘‘We have not had a single complaint about our Bologna service and we work very closely with the Advertising Standards Authority in formulating our adverts.’’