Ryanair to Close Thessaloniki Base Over Airport Fee Dispute

Ryanair connected Friday confirmed galore media reports this week successful announcing that it will adjacent its operating basal astatine Thessaloniki’s Makedonia Airport during the upcoming winter season, claiming that talks with installation relation Fraport Greece failed to resoluteness a quality implicit rising airdrome charges, a elder institution enforcement said.

Speaking to reporters successful Athens, Ryanair Chief Commercial Officer Jason McGuinness said the Irish low-cost bearer would standard backmost its beingness successful the Greek marketplace aft what helium described arsenic repeated interest increases by Fraport Greece, which manages 14 determination airports crossed the country.

“Fraport Greece continued to summation charges, which are present 66% supra pre-Covid levels,” McGuinness said.

The hose said the determination would effect successful the nonaccomplishment of astir 700,000 seats and the cancellation of 12 routes crossed the state during the winter season. Ryanair besides plans to suspend operations astatine the airports of Chania (Hania) and Heraklion (Irakleio) – some connected Crete – during off-peak months, while reducing winter capableness astatine the Athens International Airport.

Fraport reax

Conversely, Fraport Greece has defended its pricing argumentation successful caller days, arguing that airdrome charges stay competitory comparative to comparable European determination hubs and are indispensable to support infrastructure upgrades and operational costs. The relation has besides pointed to important investments carried retired since taking implicit absorption of the 14 determination airports successful Greece successful 2017 under a semipermanent concession agreement.

Ryanair has repeatedly warned it would displacement craft to markets offering little operating costs and stronger maturation incentives. The hose has precocious expanded operations successful countries including Italy, Poland and parts of cardinal and eastbound Europe while scaling backmost capableness successful airports where it maintains charges person risen too quickly.

Tourism is simply a cardinal economical assemblage for Greece, accounting for astir a 4th of economical output straight and indirectly, according to manufacture estimates. Regional airports, peculiarly successful land destinations, play a cardinal relation successful sustaining some tourism revenues and home connectivity.

Source: tovima.com