Ryanair cuts routes from Cork as costs rise

Ryanair is to reduce its services to Cork Airport following recent cost increases to cover the costs of a new terminal.

Ryanair is to reduce its services to Cork Airport following recent cost increases to cover the costs of a new terminal.

Ryanair claims the increases will add €30,000 per annum to Ryanair's costs.

The airline will reduce its Liverpool to Cork route from 7 per week to 4 per week and switch the three lost services to Kerry airport.

Ryanair claims the price hikes now make Cork uncompetitive against its peer airports throughout Europe and has made other destinations for Ryanair much more attractive.

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"Cork Airport is in danger of pricing itself out of the market with these outrageous price increases. Cork Airport has to realise that it is in competition with hundreds of other airports throughout Europe for passengers whose only concern is to get low fares," said Ryanair's deputy chief executive, Michael Cawley.

"The Cork Airport Authority has spent EUR180M on a terminal for 3 million passengers. Both Frankfurt Hahn and Düsseldorf Weeze built the same capacity for €13 million and €15 million respectively," he added.

Mr Cawley said that if the Government insists that Cork Airport is to charge a premium for its services then it will lose out on the hundreds of thousands of passengers which Ryanair and other airlines have brought to the region.

"For the sake of a cost increase of EUR30,000 the region is going to lose 20,000 incoming tourists and business visitors, the income from which runs to approximately €8 million," he claimed.