Ryanair to drop two routes from Cork

Ryanair today announced that it would close two of the seven routes that it currently operates from Cork. From the end of October the daily Cork - Prestwick and Cork - East Midlands routes will be dropped. The low cost carrier cited the decision by Cork Airport to impose a 20% increase in charges on the route in the face of higher oil prices as the reason behind the decision. The Cork - East Midlands route will be dropped as of October 26 with the Prestwick route ceasing two days later on October 28. Ryanair estimate that the loss to Cork Airport represents in the region of 200,000 passengers per year.