Ryanair cancels Belfast routes over runway delay

Ryanair is pulling five of its routes to Belfast City airport following delays in the approval process for an extension to the runway.

Ryanair says 50 jobs will go and that one million passengers a year will be lost to Northern Ireland when its routes between Belfast City and London Stansted, Liverpool, East Midlands, Bristol and Glasgow Prestwick are withdrawn on October 31.

The airline says that the runway at Belfast City was originally due to be completed in 2008, but delays in the public inquiry surrounding the planning application now mean it cannot be finished until 2012 at the earliest.

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said: "While we recognise the right of the government and people of Northern Ireland to subject this small runway extension to an extended planning process, these repeated delays, the reference to a public inquiry, and now the further delay to the public inquiry for spurious noise reasons, shows a lack of willingness on the part of the local authorities to grow and develop traffic, routes, tourism and jobs in Northern Ireland."

Although tourism chiefs expressed their regret over the loss of Ryanair’s services to Belfast, Liz Fawcett, spokeswoman for pressure group Belfast City airport watch, said: "Residents are very pleased. [Ryanair] had a particularly unpopular 6.30am flight, and certainly this will give some respite."

Read a full report at the Guardian. ·