Ryanair to cut flights from Stansted Airport by 9%
Low-cost airline Ryanair has said it will cut its flights from Stansted Airport by 9% over the next year.
Ryanair had planned to increase the number of flights to and from the Essex airport by 5% from April, but will now cut 170 flights across 43 routes a week because of increased fees at Stansted.
Ryanair has said that up to to 1,000 jobs could be lost at Stansted Airport. Credit: Press Association
The announcement came after Stansted was sold by Ferrovial/BAA to Manchester Airports Group for £1.5 billion.
Ryanair blamed its decision on a 6% increase in charges at the airport, which it says should be investigated by the Civil Aviation Authority
Ryanair spokesman Robin Kiely said:
"It's bad enough that Ferrovial/BAA has doubled prices over the past six years and presided over record traffic falls at Stansted, but it appears that the CAA now rewards this commercial failure by allowing Ferrovial/BAA to again raise fees in 2013 to compensate for its traffic declines in 2012."
Stansted sold to Manchester Airports group for £1.5bn
An aeroplane on the tarmac at Stansted Airport, which is being sold to a rival group. Credit: PA
The company formerly known as BAA is to sell Stansted airport to the Manchester Airports group for £1.5 billion.
The deal, announced late this evening, will mean that BAA - now known as Heathrow Airport Holdings - will be responsible for just four UK airports compared with its original seven.
The remaining ones are Heathrow, Southampton, Aberdeen and Glasgow.
The BAA decision ends a process which began as far back as March 2007. Credit: Chris Radburn/PA Wire
Airport operator BAA is to give up its long legal battle over the forced sale of Stansted Airport.
The company, which recently lost a Court of Appeal ruling over Stansted, said it would not make a further appeal and would proceed with the sale of the Essex airport.
The Competition Commission (CC) had originally ruled that BAA must sell Gatwick, Stansted and one of its Scottish airports following an inquiry into the company's airport ownership.
Shadow Home Secretary: Theresa May 'needs to get a grip' on border security
The Shadow Home Secretary has criticised Theresa May over the issue of Border security, following delays and long queues at Heathrow Airport. Yvette Cooper said that the delays are "bad for travellers and security".
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper: Theresa May needs 'to get a grip'
The shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper has called on the Home Secretary Theresa May to "get a grip" of delays at UK airports.
She said:
"So much for the Prime Minister ordering Theresa May to get a grip last week. The chaos at our borders is clearly spreading to port after port - damaging our global reputation and our security too.
"This is becoming a circus, with staff being shunted from port to port to try and keep up because they cut so many in the first place without a back-up plan.
"She needs to get a grip, sort out unacceptable delays at our borders and make sure their are enough officers available at all our ports to maintain security too."
UKBA spokesman: ‘We will not compromise border security’
Flag at Stansted Airport as passengers at the airport faced "unacceptably long" immigration queues Credit: Chris Radburn/PA Wire
A UK Border Force spokesman said: "We flexibly deploy staff to meet demand, meaning that the vast majority of passengers pass through immigration controls quickly.
We will not compromise border security but work closely with airport operators to keep delays to a minimum."
Passengers voice their frustration at airport queues
One passenger told the BBC she waited for two hours at passport control, another said after a flight from Cork she waited so long they were put into another area.
Other passengers expressed their frustration on Twitter.
Sophie Elliot posted on the social networking site: "Last night at Stansted we were trapped in queues of over an hour - longer for the people behind us - cos 'a few planes landed early'."
Immigration queues at Stansted airport 'unacceptably long'
Passengers at Stansted Airport have faced "unacceptably long" immigration queues at the beginning of the Bank Holiday weekend.
Hundreds of disgruntled passengers were delayed for up to two hours at passport control at the Essex airport on Friday evening.
A spokesman for Stansted airport said action was needed to address the issue of long waits urgently:
"We recognise that maintaining strong border security is a priority but we also want to see sufficient resources available to meet passenger demand and keep delays to a minimum at the busiest times.
"Our customer service teams work closely with the UK Border Force to help manage queues and assist passengers at peak times but we believe further action is needed to address the issue as a matter of urgency."
Passengers at Stansted Airport faced "unacceptably long" immigration queues at the beginning of the Bank Holiday weekend.
Hundreds of disgruntled passengers were delayed for up to two hours at passport control at the Essex airport yesterday evening.
The majority of passengers arriving at Stansted pass through border controls quickly and securely. However, at peak times, and similar to many other UK airports, immigration queues can be unacceptably long.
We recognise that maintaining strong border security is a priority but we also want to see sufficient resources available to meet passenger demand and keep delays to a minimum at the busiest times.
A Gatwick spokeswoman has said the passengers involved in the emergency landing were being looked after in a specially set-up reception area at the airport.
Some incoming flights have been diverted, with some now landing at Stansted Airport in Essex instead.
The spokeswoman did not know how long it would take for the plane to be moved from the runway and normal take-offs and landings to resume.
