Dickson Disappointed - But Not Surprised – at Ryanair Announcement to Cease All NI Flights

East Antrim Alliance MLA and Party Economy Spokesperson, Stewart Dickson, has voiced his disappointment – but not his surprise – at Ryanair’s decision to cease all flights from Northern Irish airports by the end of October.

Mr Dickson said: “Today Ryanair made an out-of-the-blue announcement to cease all flights from both the Belfast International Airport and the Belfast City Airport. Merely a year after they pulled out of the City of Derry Airport.

“This decision will have very real impacts for Northern Irish passengers, both holidaymakers and commuters. And will be hugely disappointing for the aviation and travel industries, who have had to bear the brunt of the pandemic’s worst affects for many months now.

“Whilst very disappointing, this has not come as a surprising news because Ryanair has quite the track record for leaving airports in the lurch when purse strings tighten. In 2010, they pulled out of the City Airport over a dispute about run-way size, in Valencia they pulled out because their marketing campaigns were no longer being subsidised, and most recently in Southend, they pulled out mid-pandemic leaving the airport with the prospect of no paying passengers”.

The airline will pull its Belfast International routes to Alicante, Barcelona, Gdansk, Krakow, London Stansted, Malaga, Malta, Manchester, Milan, and Warsaw, on October 30.

They will withdraw from the City Airport on September 12, which will see an end to flights to Alicante, Barcelona, Faro, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca Ibiza, and Milan.

Mr Dickson concluded: “As the aviation and travel industries look to recover from the pandemic, and passengers resume travel, Northern Ireland requires direct, convenient, and competitive national and international access.

“I hope that the gaps Ryanair’s departure will leave can be filled quickly by other providers, but in the meantime my thoughts are with the staff affected and the passengers inconvenienced”.