Ryanair will bring back four routes to Glasgow – but the airport’s boss used the announcement to push for Air Passenger Duty cuts.
The low-cost airline has confirmed it will re-introduce flights to Alicante, Brussels, Malaga and Warsaw from Glasgow for 2019.
The return of these services, which are now on sale, will take the total number of routes operated by Ryanair at Glasgow Airport to seven.
Mark Johnston, managing director at Glasgow airport, described the announcement as “very welcome news indeed” and said: “The introduction of these services is hopefully a first step to Ryanair re-establishing a strong presence here and we are really pleased the airline recognises our position as the west of Scotland’s principal airport and gateway to the region’s huge market.”
He also took a jab at the UK and Scottish governments to make cuts to Air Passenger Duty (APD), stating it puts the air service ‘at risk’.
He said: “Ryanair cited that the continued lack of movement on proposals to cut Air Passenger Duty was a key factor in the airline’s decision to significantly reduce its operation at Glasgow Airport earlier this year. In February, the airline announced that 20 flights out of Glasgow would be dropped.
“While we rightly celebrate the return of these services in addition to the three we retained at the time, it is worth remembering that at its peak Ryanair operated a further 16 routes which supported a significant number of jobs at its Glasgow Airport base.
“This regressive tax continues to put the country’s air services at risk and action must be taken to address this. That is why we are again calling on both the Scottish and Westminster governments to work together to break the current deadlock around air departure tax.”
Earlier this year, the Scottish government said it would not reduce APD in April 2019 because it would “compromise devolved powers” and damage the Highlands economy.
The Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) indicate that APD is expected to raise around £1.6 billion by 2023/24.
Alicante flights will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, while routes to Malaga will run on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Brussels flights will occur each Tuesdays and Saturdays and flights to Warsaw will operate on Mondays and Fridays
Flights to Warsaw will commence on Monday, April 1, with Alicante, Brussels and Malaga starting on Tuesday, April 2.