Amie KeeleyGRANADA city hall has refused to pay Ryanair a special grant to restart flights to the city.
The airline cancelled 28 weekly flights last May after the city refused to continue subsidising the service.
Ryanair had been seeking 300,000 euros from the city each year.
“While the airline’s flights were good for the region, the benefits were not great enough to justify paying Ryanair for the privilege,” said councillor Marífran Carazo.
The town hall argues it is impossible to restart the deal signed in 2005 even though the lack of flights is having a serious affect on local tourism. The airport has reported an almost 20 per cent drop in passengers in 2010 on 2009.
Problems started in 2007 when the City Hall said it would no longer give its 15 per cent share of the payment, which was also being met by hoteliers, the Chamber of Commerce, banks and the Sierra Nevada skiing resort.
The subsidy deals have been criticised by other airlines, arguing that they are anti-competition.
Provincial boss Antonio Martínez Caler said last year: “In mid-May, I received a phone call from Ryanair representatives stating the service to London was cancelled. Then on June 2, the company contacted me again asking for more money to save the flights.”
One Granada hotelier, who asked not to be named, said: “It is a scandal that Ryanair holds cities to ransom in order to bring in their planes.
“These sort of practices should be exposed.”
Fellow Irish airline Aer Lingus have recently announced they are to fly to the airport.
How predictably and characteristically stubborn of these fools who run Granada city. So terribly Spanish to dig in heels and choose to self destruct.
Businesses are closing daily in the wonderful city of Granada. Hoteliers, shop owners, cafes etc complain about so few people since Ryanair stopped arriving at the airport.
Typically Granada city hall dig in their heels while burying their heads in the sand.
After all, the Spanish don’t actually want tourists to visit. They just want their money.
Message to Granada city hall – Pay Ryanair what they want to bring full aircraft of people spending money.
Only then may you cease to be the city and province with the highest unemployment in the entire European Union.
Or watch your city go under.
Whilst I agree with Granada authorities not kowtowing to Ryanair` demands, in principal. Being practical, I know how much I spend whilst in the region, times that by Ryanair` typical load figures of 84% bums on seats, Granada would soon recoup the extra funds and keep people in work.
Ryanair is trying to extort a ransom, it’s that simple.
Commercially this airline is making a lot of money – take a look via the FT at it’s annual report. It’s CEO is a nasty greedy arrogant little twat.
He’s tried to impose inferior Irish contracts on French based employeees – the French are’nt standing for it.
Far better that Granada seek to get back the far superior Monarch.
The two previous posters seem to have a Republican American mentality, simple – buy a one way ticket to that wonderful land and don’t come back.
Vern – Granada has probably the highest unemployment rate of any city in western Europe because they went on and on building rubbish apartment blocks, when any idiot could see by 2002 that enough was enough.
They filled industrial estates with building supply firms that all collapsed when the bubble burst – none of this has anything to do with tourism.
Also the Spanish went on spending in clubs and bars and cafes when northern Europeans saw the light and pulled their horns in – in 2008, 3000 bars and restaurants closed in France because the French saw what was coming.
The Spanish have no savings and the biggest personal bank debts of any people in western Europe – again nothing to do with tourism.
Soon aviation fuel will be taxed for the first time in it’s history- this is when cheap flights will be finished and only reality will be landing and a hard landing it is going to be.
Vern is talking absolutely garbage, if you pay Ryanair you have to pay every airline. When I flew into Granada airport
I did`nt go near the city, I went to my home on the coast and 95% of the passengers also went to different
parts of the country.
Vern, do you live in Granada.? I do. Are ye aware how wealthy it is. New hospitals , new metro on its way, new roads, housing 33% less than national average. Hardly any expat scumbags from the coast. Low crime. Cultured, sophisticated and well educated poulation. Plus, on an economic scale, all the bars I see are generally full and businesses dont appear to be failing as they are elsewhere in Spain. Coffe and toast can be had for 80 cents in places. In my opinion it will be Ryanairs loss and Air Lingus’ gain. I fly Ryanair/Air Lingus 20-30 times a year. Given half a chance I choose Air Lingus as they are infinitely more professional. So my words to the authorities are stuff Ryanair take Air Lingus!!!
Why should Granada pay an airline to bring planes into the city that’s blackmail I would much rather not fly with this company… What about the local Granada people that want to fly into the UK though? Does London charge a fee?
It is only a couple of shady deals for the Town Hall. They could always find a few foreigners and threaten them with demolition unless they paid up. A few officials probably have that under their mattress.
Why doesnt Ryanair just increase its fares by a small amount to cover these demands, a couple of euros per trip would not be noticed and would not be seen as a bribe by the City Hall.
Reap you are so cynical. Pity what you say is true lol.
It is my understanding that the provence of Granada owe Ryanair a substantial amount of money with various amounts being suggested. This is based on a discount from the landing fees of Ryanair passengers and yet again the figure varies from 15 – 25% so who knows the real story?
Lets face it a discount of say 15% of the incoming fee for each passenger to the area is a self financing deal considering the jobs created and the wealth brought into the area. Only a non proactive government would say no to such a deal and heads in the sand would seem a good description. We have seen a big reduction in friends and family coming to visit. This must surely have had an effect on local business.
The other low cost airlines do not appear to be queuing up to fly into the airport which only confirms that the provincial governement have no negotiating skills and should urgently review there decision.
Further to the suggestion of a 1 to 2 euro levy on fares why don’t Ryanair just come up with a resonable all year round fare instead of these mickey mouse 50 pounds one way and 1 euro the other, I personally don’t fly but I have friends and relatives who do and I have never met an empty Ryanair flight at Granada. I reckon most would be happy to pay a fixed 75 pound return all year round or am I being too optimistic.
Your commentators could probably make a pretty fair job of running the city…better than the PP, without question.
Two furthur points.
If the Junta had kept tighter control on the development of Malaga airport at the expense of Jerez and Granada, this mess could have been avoided. And if the Granada PP hadn’t blown so much money on their ridiculous TV station,they would have been able to find the cash for subsidies anyway.
What about improving public transport to Malaga Airport?. When I go to Cambridge from Granada I fly to Stansted Airport and then I find a train every 1 hour or so to Cambridge straight from the Airport. With something like that we could have so many flights from Malaga as if it were Granada’s airport!. A bus line bound every hour to the airport at Malaga would work as well for much less than 300.000 euros!!.
Ryanair have to stop holding cities to randsom. Bring back Monarch or Aer Lingus is a superb airline. My husband flys with no one else from Malaga. Excellent times, no delays, and they do not rip you off on board for food and drink. Even if an alternative airline came in 3 times a week Mon, Wed and Fri it would serve the city for short breaks, Ex-pats to travel regular between countries and serves an alternative route between Malaga and Almeria. If no alternative airline it would be fantastic to run a rail/bus route to Malaga airport direct more than twice a day on a morning route only!! The bus has to be pre-booked because always full at 7am from Granada Bus Station!!! It is frustrating when most UK flight arrive at Malaga either at about 10.20am and after 9pm, but no service after 9pm!!!
I checked with Aer Lingus customer care and they say that they have no plans to fly to Granada.
The modern day traveller looks for short breaks for skiing, golfing, sight seeing etc – where can I get to easily and at a low pric? This is where the low cost airlines come in and a good job they have done of it. Ryanair seem to get a bad press from people who do not read the terms and conditions. Need I say more.
One of the deciding factors in buying our villa near Granada was the fact that we could fly into the UK from Ganada and not have to trek down to Malaga. So if the provence of Granada wish to encourage people to settle here then they must wake up from their coma and sort a deal out. with every home sold just think of the wealth that is created for the area let alone the tourists. Get a grip you local officials!
British Airways has just tied up with Iberia, why can’t they pick up the London to Granada slot. I have searched all over the web and cannot find anything about Aer Lingus flying into Granada.
It looks like Ryanair just dont want to fly from the UK to Granada seeing as they still do flights from Granada to 2 airports in Italy. Why dont the Junta tell them they have to pay extra to land at Granada.
And as for a poor bus service Granada to Malaga, try looking, we did. There is a bus from Granada to Malaga every hour from 7am to 9pm and then you can catch a bus to the airport every that runs at least every 30 minutes. I did it last year but I only went as far as Moraleda, you can find the details at http://www.gonetospain.co.uk/bus We have used this service ever since, it’s so easy.
If you are going to pay a subsidy then advertise it to all FLYERS and only pay it to the flyer that offers the best service for the area
I have Given up on Granada Airport long ago, The Rip of Car Hire and Poor Ryan Air service has moved me to use Malaga Airport for wider choice, and cheaper car hire.
What is Killing Spain is the mentality that every one in Spain is their to be ripped off. From Lawyers, Estate Agents, Councils, Local Builders Spanish and English, I have yet to meet a single English home owner in Spain that has not been ripped of at some stage.
FLY to Malaga and get a cheaper hire car and drive to LAS GABIAS or OSUNA or wherever your villa is
i always use ryanauir and have no probs. you read info know what they charge if you dont like dont use. been here eleven years never been ripped off and get on well with spanish.
Ryanair have let many passengers down, cancelling routes after people have booked in their holidays at work to coinside with wife/husband etc, not always that simple, booked care hire from airports, arranged acomodation etc, they are what they are…cheap and nasty, why should Granada pay up, if Ryanair want to spit out the dummy then let them get on with it…
I agree in principle Ryanair exortortion racket should be resisted at all cost. The planes I have been in were consistently full or near full so they were profitable Mr O’Leary is a jump up twerp who thinks he can wistle and everyone should jump. When I have a choice between Ryanair and anyother airline it has to be a least 30% cheaper to make me fly with them.