RYANAIR has scrapped a flight route out of one of the UK’s leading airports after only a year
The budget airline has hit out at the Labour government after a “holiday tax” that will make travel more expensive for Brits.
Ryanair has halted all flights to and from Bournemouth Airport to Agadir in Morocco[/caption]
Agadir became the company’s 19th destination from Bournemouth Airport during the 2023 season[/caption]
Agadir in Morocco offers Brits a sunny alternative to their winter blues[/caption]
Ryanair has halted all flights to and from Bournemouth Airport to Agadir in Morocco, which was a popular vacation destination.
The first flight to the sunny location took off in April 2024, giving the route only 10 months in the sky before it was brought crashing dow to land.
Agadir became the company’s 19th destination from Bournemouth during the 2023 season which saw the airport take on 30% more flights per week.
Ryanair has hit out at the Labour government’s implementation of AFD – Air Passenger Duty – will rise by 15 per cent on most flights from April 2026.
AFD is added to flights taking off from the UK and the cost is often passed down to customers.
According to a study by TaxPayers’ Alliance this means a family of four flying to Disneyland Florida will be taxed £408.
This will increase to £424 – or £106 per person – for ultra long-haul destinations like Australia.
For comparison, in 1994 when it was first introduced APD was just £5 for short flights and £10 for long trips.
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary claimed that Chancellor Rachel Reeves should put a halt on the levy, rather than “waffle on” about a Heathrow expansion, which he described as “a dead cat”.
Michael said: “Sadly to date, the Labour government has raised taxes while it rewarded train drivers and junior doctors, but damages economic activity and growth with this APD tax hike.”
The boss further suggested that scrapping AFD would mean 30million more passengers landing in the UK in the next five years.
Ryanair has recently announced seven extra routes from Stansted.
The airline will be operating new routes from London Stansted to Reggio Calabria in Italy, Clermont-Ferrand in France, Münster and Lübeck in Germany and Linz in Austria.
Flights to Reggio Calabria in Italy will launch on February 3, with the twice-weekly service operating every Sunday and Wednesday.
Flights take three hours, with one-way fares from just £14.99.
Despite this announcement, there are fears in the travel sector that rising flight costs could severely damage business.
Rachel Reeves introduced the tax increase because she claimed APD has not risen with inflation.
But the study suggests that by the time the hikes take effect, inflation will have gone up by roughly 111 per cent since the time the levy was introduced.
APD however will have increased by 200 per cent for short-haul flights in Europe and 920 per cent for long-haul trips.
The move is expected to deal a massive blow to the travel industry and has been criticised for targeting working people.
Advice for flying with Ryanair
- All Ryanair passengers can bring a small personal bag on board but this must fit under the seat in front of you, but it must be no bigger than 40cm x 20cm x 25cm
- Any over-sized cabin bags will be refused at the boarding gate and put in the hold for a fee
- Ryanair also charges passengers up to £55 check-in at the airport
- Anyone who loses their card at the airport will have to pay a £20 reissue fee
- Book to sit in the front five rows if you want to head off the plane first
- Extra legroom seats can be found in rows 1 A, B, C or 2 D, E, F as well as row 16 and 17 near the emergency exit
- The worst seat on Ryanair’s Boeing 737-800 aircraft is also 11A because of its lack of window.
Darwin Friend of TaxPayers’ Alliance told the Mail Online: “While the Prime Minister is able to swan off around the world without the need to pay APD from his own pocket.
“The taxpayers funding his travel have to work even harder to be able to afford an annual holiday.
“Ministers should immediately freeze this tax for an extended period to bring it more in line with inflation.”
The move to raise AFD was announced in Labour’s budget back in October.
The Chancellor told the Commons at the time: “Air passenger duty has not kept up with inflation in recent years so we are introducing an adjustment, meaning an increase of no more than £2 for an economy class short-haul flight.”
She continued: “But I am taking a different approach when it comes to private jets, increasing the rate of air passenger duty by a further 50 per cent.
“That is equivalent to £450 per passenger for a private jet to, say, California.”
Ryanair has recently announced seven extra routes from Stansted, including to Italy, France and Germany[/caption]
