UK-France flights at risk as Ryanair threatens to shut Bordeaux base

Low-cost Irish airline Ryanair is threatening to close its hub at the Bordeaux-Mérignac airport in south-west France, claiming the airport operators want to double their fees.

Closing the Nouvelle-Aquitaine hub would threaten 120 jobs, said SNPNC-FO, the union for commercial airline staff.

A closure could also threaten flight routes from the Gironde base to Marseille, London, Dublin, and Marrakech.

‘Doubling of charges’?

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary told Agence-France-Presse: “The airport wants to double our charges, and we don't want to pay for that.”

He said that the airline could close its Bordeaux hub “perhaps at the end of the summer season".

‘Completely erroneous’

In its defence, the airport has denied Mr O’Leary’s claims, saying that his reports of a “doubling” in airport fees is “completely erroneous”.

In a statement, it said: “[We] regret that Ryanair made its employees aware, without prior consultation with Bordeaux airport, of the possibility of closing its base.

“It is equally regrettable that Ryanair and its managers allow themselves to make completely erroneous public statements regarding the level of charges at the airport.”

Ryanair first came to Bordeaux in 2009, and opened its own base there in April 2019. It has two aircraft stationed at the base, and operates around 70 weekly flights from the Gironde hub.

Read more: Ryanair to open new bases at Marseille and Bordeaux

Its Bordeaux destinations also include Birmingham, Edinburgh, and Manchester in the UK, as well as a wide range of other European cities, including Valencia, Seville, Tenerife, Malaga, Lisbon, Faro, Bari, Fez, Venice, Valletta, and Krakow.

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