Ryanair, has announced that it would cut its base at Edinburgh from 7 to 6 aircraft, with the loss of 5 routes, 300,000 pax p.a., leading to the loss of up to 300 jobs, following the breakdown of negotiations with the high cost BAA Edinburgh about a competitive cost base for further Ryanair growth at Edinburgh. Ryanair also warned that BAA Edinburgh’s high cost base will lead to significant further cuts in Ryanair’s operation, if its 5 year agreement (which expires in Oct 2012) is not extended on more competitive terms.

Two advertisements for Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair have been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority. A total of 17 complaints were received by the government body after the airline issued two adverts of women posing in their underwear under the slogan ‘Red Hot Fares & Crew! One way from £9.99’.

Ryanair has gone to the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg to challenge a ruling which states airlines should compensate passengers for ‘Acts of God’ which result in cancellations. The Irish low-cost carrier believes the current EU 261 regulations are discriminating and unfit for purpose as they places an unlimited right to care on airlines.

Low cost carrier Ryanair has announced a new route from Birmingham to Budapest from March 2012 which it claims will increase its annual traffic to over 1.3 million passengers at Birmingham Airport.

No frills airline Ryanair is introducing a €0.25 levy per passenger for all bookings made from Tuesday 17th January, to cover the costs of the EU’s new ETS tax.

Ryanair has called for the break-up of the DAA airport monopoly in Ireland as it publishes its 2011 traffic report for the three properties – Shannon, Dublin and Cork. Figures from Ryanair reveal a fourth consecutive year of traffic declines, down from 22.6 million passengers in 2010 to 22.1 million last year.