Ryanair switch fails to attract more passengers to Prestwick
Posted on July 29, 2010
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Ryanair switch fails to attract more passengers to Prestwick
0 Comments | Herald, The; Glasgow (UK), Nov 14, 2009 | by DAMIEN HENDERSON
NO-FRILLS airline Ryanair has failed to lure passengers away from Glasgow Airport with its winter schedule at Prestwick, figures published yesterday suggest.
The Ayrshire airport recorded a 28per cent year-on-year fall in passengers last month after Ryanair, its main carrier, dropped three European routes in favour of sunshine destinations in the Mediterranean and Canaries, bringing it into direct competition with airlines based at Glasgow International.
Ryanair announced in July that it would end flights from Prestwick to Frankfurt Krakow and Stockholm from October. It put on new routes to Alicante, Lanzarote, Las Palmas and Palma last month and stepped up routes to Faro, Malaga and Tenerife – routes flown by Flyglobespan and easyJet from Glasgow.
BAA, which owns Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports announced his week that Glasgow had seen a 9per cent reduction in passengers in October, while Edinburgh had enjoyed its seventh consecutive month of growth.
But, more worryingly for aviation prospects in the west of Scotland, the downturn appears not to have come about as a result of increased competition with Prestwick but the continuing slump in air travel.
Around 152,000 passengers flew from Prestwick Airport in October.
The aviation slump led owners Infratil to axe more than 100 posts earlier this year – a quarter of the workforce.
A spokesman for the company yesterday put a brave face on last month’s figures, saying that advance bookings were strong and the downturn was “in line with recent trends”.
Graeme Sweenie, Prestwick Airport’s chief commercial officer, said: “2009 has certainly been a challenging year for the airport but our underlying position and future prospects are excellent.”
And he predicted that the airport would see a return to growth by mid-2010
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