Ryanair, Europe’s no. 1 airline, today (21 Dec) confirmed that it has been forced to cancel 12 UK domestic and international routes due to the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) sudden change of policy on Sunday, 20 Dec that results in unjustified restrictions and makes the operation of these routes impossible. Only 10 days away from the end of the Brexit transition phase, the CAA’s Director David Kendrick has inexplicably introduced new regulatory barriers in the way of Ryanair’s UK airline, forcing Ryanair UK to cancel 12 important routes from the UK’s regions at a time when they need reliable, low fare connectivity more than ever before.

Ryanair has been a champion of the UK skies for decades and has looked forward to continuing to serve our UK customers after Brexit, with a great choice of destinations and Europe’s lowest fares. Regrettably, blind to the needs of UK consumers and businesses, the CAA bureaucracy has decided to impose new restrictions late on a Sunday evening, just 10 days before the end of the Brexit transition, causing this unnecessary loss of connectivity to the UK economy.

A Ryanair spokesperson said:

“We are disappointed to have to cancel 12 UK domestic and international (Morocco and Ukraine) routes from London, Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Belfast and Derry, because of the CAA’s unexpected policy-shift late last night.

Ryanair UK had agreed Brexit contingency arrangements with the CAA 2 years ago and cannot comply with its new and impractical requirements at 10 days’ notice.  We call on the CAA’s David Kendrick and his management colleagues to respect this long-standing agreement and the CAA’s own established policy in order to facilitate the return of these routes as soon as possible.

We wish to ensure that UK consumers can continue to avail of Ryanair’s wide choice of destinations and Europe’s lowest fares after Brexit.  Sadly, the CAA does not share our vision for the UK’s connectivity and would rather have airlines jump through new unnecessary hoops while consumers face less choice, less competition and higher fares.”