But Airport defends investment and hits back at airline…

DUBLIN Airport has hit back at major user airline Ryanair over its decision to cut services.

The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) says it is disappointed that Ryanair "for its own reasons has announced that it intends to reduce passenger choice by cutting some services from Dublin Airport."

Said a Dublin Aiport statement: "Ryanair's own business environment has contributed to the airline's decision to withdraw some services from Dublin Airport, while at the same time launching new routes and expanding other destinations. These decisions are not related to passenger charges as Dublin, which remains one of Europe's most competitively priced large airports.

"Ryanair's public position does not stand up to scrutiny. If, as it claims, charges at Dublin Airport are one of the key reasons that it is reducing capacity, why do those same charges not have any impact on the company's desire to offer additional flights to sun destination from Dublin this year?

"A passenger pays the same charge at Dublin Airport whether they are flying to Malaga or to Manchester. Ryanair is making these changes to suit Ryanair's own financial position, as is always the case.

"Dublin's proposed passenger charge for 2010 is 25 per cent lower than the average €12.50 passenger charge levied in 2008 by comparable European airports such as Stansted, Gatwick, Brussels, Copenhagen, Lisbon, Zurich, Vienna, Munich, Oslo."

Recenly Dublin Airport announced a new range of incentives under which the passenger charge for 2010 would be reduced by five per cent if airlines maintained their 2009 traffic levels this year. In this scenario, one million passengers could have passed through the airport for free this year, said the airport.

"Ryanair claimed that it is reducing capacity on certain routes and putting up prices from because of alleged high charges at Dublin Airport. However recently Ryanair's Chief Financial Officer Howard Millar gave a completely different reason for the move."

He said: "We're in the midst of recession and we expect to slow down our growth," Mr Millar told the news agency Bloomberg. He added that the company would increase its profits by putting up fares.

"Airport charges at Dublin Airport are regulated by the independent Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR) and the regulator has decided that the appropriate charge for this year is €9.32. On a like-for-like basis, this equates to a €1.76 increase in charges," added the Dublin Airport statement.

"It seems odd that an airline that regularly charges passengers €10 each for the privilege of paying for a return flight by credit card should argue that this change will cause a seismic shift in travel patterns.

And it claims that Ryanair's own charges have soared in recent years:

l For example, Ryanair's baggage check-in charge has increased by 600 per cent since 2006

l The charge for using a credit card to book a Ryanair flight has almost trebled since 2006

The cost of changing a Ryanair flight booking has almost doubled since 2006.

l The Airport further claims that Ryanair continues to spread untruths about the cost of Terminal Two, Dublin Airport's new passenger terminal, which will open this November. The overall T2 project, which includes the new passenger terminal, the new boarding gate facility known as Pier E, a new energy centre, new aircraft parking stands and a major upgrade of Dublin Airport's internal road network is €609 million.