Passengers lose out as Ryanair axes flights
IRISH property owners in the Canary Islands will be facing increased difficulty getting to their holiday apartments in 2009 after Ryanair cancelled their direct flights.
The budget airline will cease flights to the island of Fuerteventura after January 31, following a row with the local tourism group, AIE.
Ryanair has confirmed that it will close all of its routes to the holiday island from all its bases in Dublin, the UK and Germany.
Irish people who snapped up holiday properties on the island during the boom years will now have to find another carrier to get them to Fuerteventura. Ryanair is the only airline to fly direct from Dublin to the island except for tour operators. Aer Lingus flies to the nearby islands of Lanzarote and Gran Canaria.
Ryanair made the decision to pull the route after it claimed tourism group AIE failed to honour the commercial agreement it entered into with Ryanair to promote Fuerteventura as a tourist destination.
Tourism
Ryanair began the routes in 2006 and, over the past two years, passenger numbers have increased dramatically from 2,000 to more than 250,000. However, AIE's alleged breach of its agreement with Ryanair has led to all the flights to Fuerteventura being cancelled.
The airline, run by Michael O'Leary, has also confirmed that it will continue in legal action against AIE and its individual members for alleged breach of their agreement.
Ryanair's Michael Cawley, said: "This is a very black day for Fuerteventura and one which will have a severe impact on tourism and the livelihoods of its islanders.
"Ryanair's lowest fares and no fuel surcharge have delivered huge tourism revenues and over 250,000 annual passengers will now be lost to/from Fuerteventura. At a time when Spanish tourism numbers are falling, Ryanair's passenger traffic continues to grow as our fares continue to fall," he said.
"However, the AIE has now taken a huge gamble with the livelihoods of the local tourism industry by losing Ryanair's 23 weekly services to the island," Mr Cawley said.
- Sarah Neville
