Airports queue up as Ryanair seeks new base
[October 27th 2008]
Low cost airline Ryanair says it has received plenty of interest from airports across Europe as it looks for a new base following its decision to cease operations at Valencia airport.
Speaking about the decision to close its base at Valencia, Ryanair deputy chief executive, Michael Cawley, said: “We have already received numerous enquiries right across Europe and we will be announcing a new base elsewhere next week”.
The budget airline will transfer the two planes based at Valencia to the new airport as part of its investment of over $140 million.
Most of Ryanair’s flights from Valencia, including flights to Stansted, Liverpool John Lennon and East Midlands airports, will be cancelled from November 4th. However, Ryanair says it will continue to operate a limited service to Valencia on a Stansted based aircraft.
After opening the base in August last year, Ryanair says it has increased passenger numbers at Valencia by over 25% this year and expected to carry around 1.5 million passengers annually out of the airport’s total of 6 million.
The decision to move out of Valencia was made after the tourism department of the Comunitat Valenciana refused to give any marketing support to promote the airport across Ryanair’s European network, saying no funds were available.
Instead €12 million have been given to local airline, Air Nostrum, for marketing activities. Ryanair maintains that Air Nostrum delivered neither growth nor international passengers to the region.
“Ryanair had begun to transform this once overlooked region of Spanish tourism into a powerhouse of growth and development. Without any assistance or cooperation from the local tourism board, Ryanair has already shown the possibilities which are uniquely available through its low fares,” says Cawley.
“However, the naked subsidisation by the Comunitat Valenciana of competitor airlines at the expense of Ryanair and the refusal by the same party to engage in any meaningful discussion with Ryanair have meant that continuation of our base at the airport is untenable,” Cawley concludes.
Written by: Nick Purdom
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