RYANAIR yesterday assured customers who have booked any flights to and from Cyprus, which have been suspended as of November, that they would have their money refunded.
The low-cost carrier confirmed on Wednesday it would be suspending all flights to and from Larnaca airport this winter, starting in November, and cutting back from 15 to four destinations to and from Paphos. The announcement was made after arduous negotiations with the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) failed to have the flights continue throughout the winter period November-March.
Since 2010 Ryanair has been flying to four secondary European airports from Larnaca; Dusseldorf Weeze, Barcelona Girona, Bologna and Brussels Charleroi, and set up a hub in Paphos earlier this year from where it was operating 15 destinations.
Ryanair’s Maria Macken, sales manager for the Cypriot market said that as of yesterday the airline’s website had been adjusted to account for the suspended routes.
Macken said that anyone who had booked on any of the cancelled destinations for after November 1, would be contacted by the airline and would receive a full refund.
Ryanair ditched Larnaca until summer 2013, citing higher fuel costs. It has tried to negotiate higher financial incentives from the cash-strapped Cyprus Tourism Organisation but the talks were unsuccessful.
The airline was reportedly asking for double the incentives for the ‘promotion’ of its Larnaca flights.
In Paphos yesterday, the regional tourism board said that they were happy with what Ryanair had achieved there since it began flights in April this year. The four routes that will continue throughout the winter are: Chania Crete, London Stansted, Milan Bergamo and Thessalonica.
“From the official statistics we have up until today Ryanair has accommodated more than 190,000 passengers while the company has significantly boosted the local and the island’s overall economy,” said Nasos Hadjigeorgiou, head of the board.
He added that one of the primary achievements had been access into new markets such as Sweden, Italy and Norway.
“It (Ryanair) contributes to the upgrade of the function of Paphos airport and has created new job positions in the tourist (sector), restaurants, commercial businesses while at the same time supporting small businesses in Paphos and islandwide,” said Hadjigeorgiou.