Britons in France dismayed after Ryanair cuts winter flights in south

Ryanair’s decision to cut winter flights has raised concerns among residents and second-home owners in southern France, as parts of the region now face several weeks without direct flights to the UK.

The airline said it is reducing its winter schedule because of high jet fuel costs, with the cuts expected to reduce its winter losses by 70million to €100million. 

For their part, Britons living in the region reacted with anger to the decision, calling it “reprehensible” and a failure by the airline to take account of “the needs of the community it serves.”

Reductions include cuts on the Manchester-Carcassonne and London Stansted-Carcassonne services. Flights are due to stop at the end of October and then restart in mid-December, leaving a six-week gap.

The suspension is significant for people with homes in the Béziers-Carcassonne area. Ryanair has already stopped operating its London Luton-Béziers route during winter, with the last flights this year scheduled for October 23. 

Michael Laycock, a Connexion reader who owns a holiday home in a village near Béziers, said the Carcassonne route had proved an important alternative after the winter Béziers flights were cut.

“When we used to fly out during the winter months to Béziers, most of the passengers would either be second-home owners going out for a week at their house, or expats returning to France after having had a week in England,” he told The Connexion. 

“Last year for the first time, Béziers disappeared from the schedules. However, people could still travel to Carcassonne and fly from Carcassonne to Manchester through the whole of the winter

“You just have a train journey of an hour or so to get to Carcassonne, then a shuttle bus out to the airport. It wasn’t too bad, although not as convenient as it would have been when there was a full service to Béziers Airport.

“But it appears now that they've decided to cut that service for six weeks.”

Mr Laycock said the gap could catch people out.

“I've got a friend who's got a house in our village who was thinking of visiting in October or November, and I don't think they knew about there being no flights to England,” he said.

“If you went out there and thought, ‘We'll book the flight out in October, we'll come back in November’, if you didn't look, you could be out there wanting to book your flight back in November.

“Then you realise that you can't fly back in November unless you're prepared to travel across the country.”

He said alternatives could involve a trip of around 450km to Limoges, or travelling across the border to Spain.

Mr Laycock also says the loss of the flights could affect local businesses that rely on visitors outside the main summer season.

Jacky Ingram, a UK expat who lives in Villeneuve-lès-Béziers, said she had seen how much easier the opening of Béziers airport had made travel between the region and the UK.

“When my husband and I first came here, there were no flights from the UK to Béziers; we had to fly into Montpellier, Toulouse, Nîmes, Girona or sometimes Carcassonne,” she said.

“When Béziers airport opened up it was great: a ten-minute drive and cheap flights to Bristol, so we could come more often.”

Ms Ingram said the loss of routes could have serious consequences when people need to travel urgently.

“If there is a family emergency, such as the death of my husband last year, it means that no one in the family could get here for the funeral.”

It works the other way around as well, in that I would have difficulty in getting to the UK quickly, as flights from the other airports have also been cut, effectively isolating the British community in Languedoc every winter.”

Ms Ingram said she felt airlines also had a responsibility towards communities that had come to rely on established routes.

“I find it reprehensible that an airline starts a route, but fails to take responsibility for keeping that route open once people have come to depend on it,” she said.

“It is like running a bus service when you feel it might be profitable, but not taking into account the needs of the community it serves.

“I understand that it is a commercial activity that has to make a profit, but in my experience the winter flights were just as full as the summer ones.”

Contacted by The Connexion, Ryanair said it had cut its passenger target from 216 million to 214 million for the year to reduce its exposure to unhedged winter fuel costs. However, in its press release, the airline described this as a “one-off winter schedule cut”, while warning that if higher oil prices persist, airfares could increase. 

Will you be affected by Ryanair’s winter cuts? You can share your story with us at feedback@connexionfrance.com