Dublin flight is axed
DONCASTER'S tourism industry today suffered a St Patrick's Day blow with the news Robin Hood Airport is to lose its Dublin route.
Airline Ryanair is to ditch flights from the Irish capital to Finningley in a move it has blamed on the Irish Government's fee increases.
Around 60,000 used the service in the last year. Ryanair, the Republic of Ireland's largest airline, has announced the flights will stop in July as a result of increased air traffic control costs at Dublin.
Its Dublin to Teesside, Basel and Oporto routes also face the axe and eight routes will be reduced, including Dublin to Aberdeen, Biarritz, Billund, Bournemouth, Carcassonne, East Midlands, Malaga and Rome (Ciampino).
Neil Pakey, deputy chief executive officer for Peel Airports, which operates Robin Hood Airport, said: "There is no hiding our disappointment at the Ryanair announcement and we know that there will be a similar reaction from the many thousands of passengers who have supported the service."
Marketing manager Robin Tudor said the firm believed the market was still there for flights to Dublin and would look to find another operator.
He said: "This year we've had 60,000 people travelling between here and Dublin and we are convinced the market is still there."
Passenger statistics have in the past shown the Dublin route to be bringing inbound flights to Doncaster as well as taking tourists to Ireland, with Doncaster races a popular destination.
Doncaster Council economy and enterprise overview and scrutiny committee vice chairman Coun Jonathan Wood warned of the dangers of taxes pushing business out.
He added: "Any loss of service, particularly in this economic climate, is a big blow to Doncaster.
"I'm sure it will hurt tourism and the racing economy in the borough, and hurt us as a stopping off point to other places in Yorkshire and the UK.
"I would worry there may be a knock-on effect on hotels."
Ryanair said it had been forced to cut back routes and traffic at Dublin as the impact of the 10 euro Irish Government tourist tax and other price hikes take hold.
It said the cost increases have caused numbers at Dublin to decline, falling 12 per cent in February alone.
Ryanair's deputy chief executive and chief operating officer Michael Cawley said: "This latest 12 per cent increase in government-controlled charges at Dublin Airport is another nail in the coffin of Irish tourism.
"These massive cost increases prove that the Irish government is devastating the tourism industry.
"Ryanair appreciates that it is not only the Irish economy that is affected by these horrendous increases in air traffic control charges, and we will continue to look at other route opportunities from
Doncaster and Tees Valley where such Draconian cost increases are not
imposed upon us."
A spokesman for the department of transport in the Irish Republic said: "This decision by Ryanair is regrettable but the government's departure tax is not why Ryanair decided to cut these services."
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Friday 25 May 2012
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