Ryanair threatens to close Fuerteventura routes
Ferry Online Travel News 20/11/2008
Nine routes operated by the budget carrier to Fuerteventura are at risk due to a funding dispute.
The Irish low-cost carrier said that it would shut down its Canary Islands services from 31 January 31 unless the local tourism group AIE makes good on its part of a "commercial agreement" to promote tourism in Fuerteventura.
Ryanair added that a breach of the agreement earlier in the month had led to the cancellation of a flight from Dublin.
If an agreement regarding the alleged breaches is not reached before 6 December, the carrier has said that it will withdraw all services to Fuerteventura from Birmingham, East Midlands, Liverpool, London, Dublin, Shannon, Bremen, Dusseldorf and Frankfurt airports.
The airline confirmed that it has instituted legal action against AIE and the individual members of the tourist group for breach of agreement.
An airline executive is claiming that air passenger arrivals have increased from 2,000 per year in 2006 when it began operating flights to Fuerteventura, to over 250,000 now.
The deputy chief executive of Ryanair, Michael Cawley, said: “At a time when Spanish tourism numbers are falling, Ryanair’s numbers continue to grow.
He added: “However, the AIE continues to threaten the livelihoods of the local tourism industry by blatantly reneging on its contractual commitments. Ryanair has served 30 days’ notice to the AIE to comply with its contractual agreements.”
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