Ryanair has scaled back its Manchester operation, cutting hundreds of jobs.
The Irish budget airline announced yesterday that it was dropping nine of the 10 destinations served by its Manchester Airport operation, according to the Financial Times.
The routes will move to East Midlands, Liverpool and Leeds Bradford airports from October, and the carrier has said that 600 local jobs will be lost.
While Ryanair has blamed high airport charges for its decision, council-owned Manchester Airport said that its charges of £3 per passenger were not unreasonable. An airport spokesperson also said that the impact on the workforce would not be as severe as Ryanair predicted.
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He said: “Low-cost carriers do not support as many jobs as scheduled airlines.”
Last week, Ryanair announced plans for a 14-route base at Leeds Bradford Airport, creating 100 jobs. It has also recently scaled down its Stansted Airport operation.
