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RyanAir take their ball home

Oh dear, RyanAir recently announced they are cutting 7 routes from Murcia San Javier Airport to the UK this winter, a loss to the airport of 76 flights per week and an estimated 120,000 visitors over the period. 

Not good news for the struggling tourist sector here and not good news for those expats who go back for Christmas etc, many of whom will now have to make the long boring journey to Alicante airport. Cheers Michael…!

Apparently RyanAir has the huff because the Murcian Tourist Board “has failed to promote the area” to UK tourists. Personally I think it has more to do with the fact that AirNostrum, a Spanish airline, has been given a nice chunk of promotional money which O´Leary thinks should rightfully have gone to his company, seeing as RyanAir brings 50% of total traffic through Murcia airport. Maybe he has a point but it is the travelling public who will suffer most.

No announcement has been made as to whether the flights will be brought back for next summer.

UPDATE – 15 AUGUST 2010

Now Air Berlin has joined the party announcing it will discontinue flights to Palma de Mallorca from April next year.  Damn and blast…how will I get my Mallorca fix now???

They also cite Murcia Tourist Board for failure to promote the area in Germany, though I fail to see what that has that got to do with flights from Murcia to Mallorca…..Is O´Leary taking his friends home too?

Good on yer Jet2 who are now advertising as “Proud to serve Murcia Airport”