Hoteliers fear Cyprus move as Ryanair prepares to ground 80 aircraft

Already planning their booking prices for the winter, two hoteliers who spoke to MaltaToday on condition of anonymity say they fear Malta will be one of the airports affected by Ryanair’s upcoming move. But a government source told this newspaper that Ryanair is angling for lower airport charges.

“Higher oil prices next winter, and the refusal of some airports to offer lower charges, makes it more profitable to tactically ground up to 80 aircraft,” Ryanair said in its annual report.

But despite higher oil prices and last year’s volcanic ash cloud, Ryanair once again recorded a jump in pre-tax profits but warned that fuel costs will force it to ground aircraft.

Ryanair flew 72 million passengers in the year up to 31 March 2011 with its average airfare going up by 12% and netting €802 million in revenue from in-flight sales alone, making up 22% of its total revenue. Its pre-tax profits increased to €450 million up from €420m a year earlier.

A spokesman for the airline was reported by The Times to have refused to say whether Malta International Airport was one of the airports were aircraft were to be grounded.

Ryanair said that it is concerned at the “impact of the recession, austerity measures, and falling consumer confidence on fares”.

This didn’t stop Ryanair from adding 40 aircraft during 2010 to create a fleet of 272, and eight new bases and 328 new routes. But this will lead to higher fuel costs, even though the airline is 90% hedged for 2012 with costts of $82 per barrel – significantly lower than the Brent crude of €116.

Malta was Ryanair’s 41st base to open in May 2010 with one-based aircraft and 19 routes, billed to deliver 800,000 passengers every year on over 120 weekly flights. Ryanair said it would be “investing over $70 million” at MIA.

But the airline has been bullish in statements that MIA charged amongst the highest airport charges in Europe. Malta International Airport has defended itself saying its charges amount to an average of €19.89 per departing passenger in response to claims by Ryanair deputy chief Michael Cawley that it was charging €25 per passenger, “the highest in Europe.”

Airport charges cover landing fees, aircraft parking fees, passenger service charges and security fees. MIA says the charges have remained unchanged since March 2006, and that they are not has high as Antalya, Munich, Budapest, Birmingham, Orly and Lyon airports. “There are others which have significantly higher charges than those in Malta, like Larnaca (+30%) and Athens (+25%). Contrary to the picture being depicted, Malta airport is definitively within the European average in so far as its airport charges are concerned,” the airport had said.