Ryanair to cut flights to England

Irish airline Ryanair plans to make substantial cuts to its flights to and from London from the start of the UK winter schedule, in response to the new British tax on air passengers. At London Stansted alone, Ryanair plans to cancel a hefty 16 to 17 percent of all routes compared with the previous winter schedule in 2009.

A 16 to 17 percent reduction in Ryanair routes would translate into around 1.5 to 2 million fewer passengers. In a press release issued by Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary in London , he condemned the government’s new tax as an “unjustifiable burden” on all airlines operating flights to and from England. He also explicitly noted that comparable taxes had been abolished in the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain after proving impractical and economically restrictive.

Is Ryanair serious? Or is the Irish low-cost airline flexing its muscles with a threat in an attempt to persuade the British government to back down? According to the company’s already well-developed plans, the Irish airline intends to follow through, reducing its fleet at its London-Stansted airport base from the current 24 aircraft to 22 from the start of the winter schedule. Ryanair is also set to make cuts at its other airports in the UK.

The newly introduced tax, imposed by the British government, is currently the subject of heated debate among international travel industry experts. Critics argue that the so-called “Air Passenger Duty” of £11 will needlessly make flights to London and other airports in England more expensive.