Ryanair to cut Kerry - Stansted capacity

Kerry Airport has found that it too is not immune from the Ryanair sword. The carrier has announced that it is cutting it's Kerry - Stansted service from 14 per week to 4, blaming the decision on a combination of the Irish government's €10 travel tax and the high airport costs at Stansted. In contrast though frequency on Kerry - Luton is being increased from four flight to seven flights per weekFrom October 25 there will be one flight a day between Kerry and Luton and one flight between Kerry and Stansted on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Passengers planning on early departures to London are restricted to Fridays and Sundays: the only days with flights to London before 10am.

Profit drop at Kerry Airport

Passenger numbers grew 8% YoY for the year ended October 2008 to an annual total of just over 419,000, primarily due to the introduction of the Ryanair Luton - Kerry service. Profit fell 40% however for the same period due to a growth in overhead.

Income after tax was €327,5k from a revenue base of €6.976m. The growth in overhead arose as a result in the change of the Dublin-Kerry PSO (Public Service Obligation) route which changed hands from Aer Arann to Ryanair during the year. The change to larger B738 aircraft from ATR size required a change in ground handling,emergency services and staff numbers.