Ryanair announced the closure of its Valencia base, following through on its threat in a dispute with the Valencian regional government. The LCC said it will pull more than 70 weekly flights from the airport on Nov. 4 and invest $140 million in another base set to be unveiled this week. It opened the base in August 2007 but claimed local tourism authorities refused to make funds available to promote travel to the region in cooperation with Ryanair while simultaneously granting €12 million in marketing support to Air Nostrum. Ryanair said the government refused its request for a meeting.
“This blanket refusal to engage with the largest low-fares and fastest-growing airline in Europe contrasts sharply with the attitude of the vast majority of other government and regional tourist authorities throughout Europe who actively seek Ryanair’s business at their airports,” the carrier said. Flights to Bologna, Nottingham East Midlands, Eindhoven, Liverpool, Maastricht, Malta, Porto, Paris Beauvais and Santiago de Compostela will be cancelled from Nov. 4, while “limited service” will continue to/from London Stansted.
Separately, Ryanair will launch flights from Bologna to Bari, Brindisi, Dusseldorf Weeze, Granada, Lamezia, Paris Beauvais, Trapani (all starting March 30), Edinburgh, Katowice, Oslo Torp (all March 31) and Constanta (April 1).
