Thursday, April 9, 2009

Ryanair reviews Prestwick flights

HUGE taxes could hit the Ryanair success story at Prestwick Airport.

The budget carrier is warning of uncertain times ahead unless a £10 flight duty is lowered by the government.

Bosses at the Irish airline are reviewing their operations at the Ayrshire base.

And while they won’t scale back on their 28 destinations, Ryanair know time is running out.

Marketing executive Maria Macken warned: “These are very difficult times in the UK and we’re not being helped by the government.

“The £10 airport tax which is applied to all fares is having a huge effect on business.

“We’re looking for low-cost bases and these are increasingly being found outside of the UK.

“We have no reason to scale back our operation at Prestwick right now, but we’re also not in a position to expand.”

The message is sure to come as a further blow to Prestwick, following recent job losses at the airport.

Ryanair have flown from the hub since 1994 and their success now impacts heavily on the airport’s future.

Ms Macken added: “Prestwick has been good for us and is a popular tourist destination in itself with a lot of inbound flights.

“We’ve recently launched another Scottish base at Edinburgh, but there’s no plan to move flights across there.

“We just have to realise that we can’t tax our way out of a recession, and if we’re going to develop then costs have to come down.”