Ryanair has decided to cut flights between the UK and Belfast at the end of October. The decision comes as Belfast City confirmed that a public inquiry into a proposed runway extension would be further delayed.

Ryanair had threatened the withdrawal earlier in the year as my previous blog detailed, so the move is no real surprise.

In a statement the airline said: “Ryanair had planned to open up a wide range of low fare European routes from/to Belfast City once the promised runway extension was delivered, but this has sadly failed to materialise.

“Today’s closure of Ryanair’s Belfast City base means that Belfast and Northern Ireland tourism will lose up to one million passengers annually.”

Ryanair will switch its one Belfast City-based aircraft to another European airport at the start of November.

There was a slight dip in Ryanair’s punctuality last month. According to its own customer service statistics only 78 percent of its flights were on-time in July, compared with 85 percent in July 2009.

 The airline also received 0.73 complaints for every 1,000 passengers compared with 0.67 complaints per 1,000 last year.

There were fewer baggage complaints however; only 0.37 for every 1,000 passengers compared with 0.7 last year. This could be because of the large increase in baggage fees this summer which must have encouraged more passengers to travel with only hand luggage.

Ryanair is starting four new routes from London Gatwick in October, these are: Bologna, Faro, Milan Bergamo and Portoand will also increase the frequency of its London Gatwick to Oslo Rygge route to 10 flights per week.

Bologna picture by Flickr User B a m s h a d

 Porto flights will operate five times a week, Faro and Bologna four, and Milan Bergamo daily.

The Transport Minister in France, Dominique Bussereau, has asked the French civil aviation authority to investigate allegations that Easyjet have not let disabled passengers to fly without a travel companion.

In a statement on the French transport ministry’s website, Bussereau said the airline should not be allowed to “hide behind safety regulations”.

He said: “It must implement solutions adapted to each case, as most companies do. Otherwise it must be sanctioned with the greatest severity.”

EasyJet have defended themselves by saying it operates the same policy as many European airlines.

 ”European safety regulations require that all passengers are able to evacuate an aircraft within 90 seconds and therefore we require that some passengers with reduced mobility have a travel companion.

“We are already in discussion with the French Government to find a workable solution for our passengers without compromising safety.” said Corporate affairs manager of Easyjet, Andrew McConnell.

Have any readers of this blog with reduced mobility encountered any problems with flying with Easyjet without a companion? Is it a fair rule or does it unfairly limit freedom to travel independently? Perhaps an option would be for airlines that enforce this rule to dedicate one member of cabin crew to a passenger with reduced mobility to help them to evacuate in a case of emergency?

In an agreement with Finnair, Flybe is to provide regional services in Scandinavian and the Baltic Sea.

From 31st October Flybe will start services to key Scandinavian and Baltic markets from Helsinki airport, including Tampere, Turku and Tallinn.

Flybe and Finnair will also begin discussions on a potential wider co-operation agreement. This could see Flybe providing a range of services across Nordic and Baltic Sea markets.

Picture by Flickr User Klearchos Kapoutsis

Another new Ryanair route has been announced, this time from London Stansted to Plovdiv in Bulgaria.

It will operate a twice-weekly service starting on 2nd November. Fares for Plovdiv will start from £32.99 one-way inclusive of taxes.

A spokesperson said: “Plovdiv is Bulgaria’s second largest city with a rich and varied history dating back 8,000 years. Plovdiv makes a great city break destination and is also within easy access of the ski resorts of Bansko and Pamporovo.”

The threat of strike action by Spanish Air Traffic Controllers has been criticised by airlines and travel companies. Ryanair has called on the Spanish government to intervene with help from the military to avoid too much disruption.

If the strike goes ahead it is expected to start on 18th August and last for three days, although the date and duration is still to be confirmed.

Over 2,000 controllers have voted in favour of industrial action in protest at government plans to change their working hours and reduce overtime pay. The Spanish government hope to maintain ‘minimum services’ which could be up to around 50% according to a report in the Telegraph.

A spokesperson for Ryanair said: “Air transport and tourism are vital to the Spanish economy and the Government must ensure that Spanish airports remain open during strikes by calling on the military to provide air traffic control services … this happens in many other European countries when strikes threaten air transport.

“[The threatened] Spanish air traffic control strikes and the industrial action taken by French ATC workers in recent weeks highlight the urgent need for a standardised Europe-wide system of air traffic control to ensure that striking air traffic controllers in one country do not hold the travelling public to ransom.

“Under a standardised Europe-wide air traffic control system, strikes would be covered by controllers in other countries – ensuring that passengers are not disrupted by the strike action of very well-paid ATC workers.”

In February the government cut Spanish controllers salaries by around 40% –  the average wage went from £290,000-a-year to £167,000. In Britain the same workers earn a basic salary of between £60,000 and £90,000-a-year, according to National Air Traffic Services.

Ryanair passengers flying to Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Tenerife and Fuerteventura will have to pay peak season  baggage check-in costs all year round it was announced today.

This means that while check-in baggage prices on all other routes will revert to £15 (£25 for heavy bags) on 1st September, baggage fees on flights to the Canaries will remain at peak fees of £20 per bag (£30 for heavy bags) each way. The only way around the high fees is to travel with only hand luggage.

The airline claims that the move is ’to encourage passengers to travel light’.

“By increasing our optional checked-in baggage fees this summer the number of checked-in bags reduced while passenger numbers increased,” said spokesman Stephen McNamara.

“Almost 70% of Ryanair’s Canary Islands passengers will be unaffected by these changes because they already travel without checked-in bags.”

Bmi is holding another ‘bmifriday’ of offers today, 30th July.

It is giving away up to 50% discounts on flights every last Friday of the month from midday until 5pm.

Routes for this sale include cut price flights to Vienna, Zurich, Brussels, Washington and Chicago.

A recent survey by a travel website found that nearly 75% of holidaymakers said they plan to fly with smaller bags or just hand luggage in order to avoid charges and possible fines.

Over 40% of the respondents to lastminute.com’s survey said they are now confused by new rules on taking bags onto an aircraft, and a fifth said they had been caught out by new regulations and been fined accordingly.

Have any of you been caught out by the new rules and regulations? We’ve tried to cover news of such regulations on the blog as they come to light to prevent travellers from being stung by avoidable fines. A blog that continues to be relevant includes recent airline price hikes and also tips to beat or lower them, view the full blog here.

Below is a chart showing the average costs of carrying a single bag within the hold on a low cost airliner (flying short haul) sourced from MoneySupermarket.com April 2010. The figures are for return flights.

Jet 2 £24

Thompson £23

Flybe £20

Easyjet £18

Monarch £26

Aer Lingus £8

Thomas Cook £16

BMI Baby £28

Ryanair £40

Average £22.55