On the same day that Ryanair announced the addition of 11 new routes to its Edinburgh schedule it also revealed that it will be closing its Glasgow Airport hub which could result in the loss of 300 jobs and throughput of approximately 500,000 passengers.
A spokesman for the budget airline blamed the Scottish Government for the closure stating that his had failed to reduce Air Passenger Duty (APD) tax after ministers had previously promised that it would be halved.
In addition to closing the base at Glasgow the move will also see a reduction in the number of routes it operates from 23 to 3, one of which will be to Alicante.
Glasgow Airport said it was “bitterly disappointed” by Ryanair’s decision.
Ryanair’s chief commercial officer, David O’Brien, said that the announcement should come as no shock to the Scottish Government after they had been told on numerous occasions that their continued operation in Glasgow depended on the reduction in APD. On the plus side, however, he added that the additional routes announced at Edinburgh could see the addition of a further 700 jobs.
“There are other markets in the UK and Europe which offer a more compelling proposition,” he said.
