Ryanair announced a 50% cutback in its summer 2012 schedule at Alicante, which follows a 50% cut in Ryanair’s winter 2011/12 services. During November, the first month of these cutbacks, Ryanair estimated that Alicante’s seat capacity has fallen 50% from its October figure, and its traffic is down 12% on Nov 2010.

Ryanair blamed these cuts directly on the AENA Alicante airport monopoly, which from April 2011 compelled Ryanair to use unnecessary airbridges, and pay some 2m euros p.a. in avoidable airbridge fees at Alicante. As a result of these 2012 cutbacks, Ryanair’s annual traffic at Alicante will fall from 3.5m in 2010/11 to 2m in 2011/12, with the loss of 6 based aircraft, 18 routes and1,500 jobs at Alicante. These cuts will reduce AENA Alicante’s revenues by some 30m euros p.a. solely because of its attempt to impose 2m euros in unnecessary airbridge fees on Ryanair.

At a press conference in Alicante, Ryanair dismissed AENA’s false claims about the airbridge issue as follows:

(a) AENA have claimed that airbridge use is a “safety issue”. This is untrue when the majority of flights boarding at most Spanish and other EU airports operate without airbridges with absolute safety.  Even very large airports such as London Stansted and Gatwick permit walk on/walk off boarding with no use of airbridges.

(b) AENA have claimed that half of Alicante’s flights can board using walk on/walk off procedures, with the other half using airbridges.  This claim clearly disproves AENA’s false claim that airbridge use is a “safety issue”.

(c) AENA have claimed that Ryanair’s cutbacks were “planned anyway”. Again this claim is untrue.  Ryanair’s route and traffic cuts at Alicante are the direct result of AENA’s decision to force Ryanair to use and pay for unnecessary airbridges. Ryanair has confirmed that if this compulsory airbridge use is withdrawn, then these Alicante flight, traffic and jobs cuts will be reversed.

Announcing these 50% cuts for 2012 in Alicante, Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary said: “Because of AENA Alicante’s abusive decision to force Ryanair to use and pay for unnecessary airbridges since April 2011, Alicante Airport will now lose 6 based aircraft, 18 routes, 1.5m passengers p.a. from Nov 2011 to Oct 2012. This loss of traffic will cost AENA Alicante some €30m p.a. (in passenger payments and commercial revenues) and will see more than 1,500 jobs lost in and around Alicante airport. When Ryanair announced these cuts earlier this year AENA Alicante claimed that other airlines would step in and take up these flights. The evidence of Alicante’s 12% traffic decline in November proves these claims were also false.

“Ryanair is the only airline capable of growing traffic rapidly at Alicante, and without us no one else seems willing to grow or use and pay for these unnecessary airbridges either. AENA Alicante are now proving that inefficient airbridges and higher fees will result in the airport suffering route, traffic and job cuts. We call again on AENA to reverse this abusive decision to force Ryanair and other airlines to use and pay for unnecessary airbridges at Alicante.

“In the meantime Ryanair looks forward to successfully appealing Alicante’s decision to impose expensive and unnecessary airbridges, which will be heard in the Spanish Commercial Courts in early February.  If Ryanair’s appeal is successful, then these Alicante cuts will be reversed in time for Summer 2012.”

Ryanair also announced it would open its 49th EU base at Palma Airport in March 2012 with 4 based aircraft operating 47 routes (17 new), delivering 2.8m passengers p.a., and sustaining up to 2,800 Balearic jobs.

In addition to Ryanair’s existing 30 Palma routes, the airline will open 17 new routes from Palma to Aarhus, Cork, Gothenburg, Haugesund, Kaunas, Krakow, Maastricht, Malaga, Magdeburg, Marseille, Oslo, Paris Beauvais, Poznan, Santander, Santiago, Stockholm, and Tampere, all of which go on sale on ryanair.com tomorrow (14th Dec) and bring to 47 the number of routes offered from Palma by Ryanair in summer 2012.

Ryanair celebrated its new Palma base (No 49) by launching a 1 million seat sale from €9.99 for travel across 1,000 European routes in late Jan and early Feb 2012. These low fares are available for booking until midnight Thursday (15th Dec).

In Palma, Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary said: “Ryanair is delighted to announce Palma as our 49th base with a total of 47 routes on sale on ryanair.com from tomorrow for summer 2012. Now Palma consumers/visitors can beat the recession and escape both Air Europa and Air Berlin’s high fares by switching to Ryanair’s lowest fares and enjoy our no fuel surcharge guarantee to 47 exciting destinations. Ryanair’s traffic of 2.8m p.a. will sustain up to 2,800 jobs at Palma Airport and in the tourism industry on the island of Mallorca.”