Ryanair pulls out of Polish base over fees

Ryanair today said it has stopped negotiations to establish a base in Poland because of increases in fees charged to passengers…

Ryanair today said it has stopped negotiations to establish a base in Poland because of increases in fees charged to passengers in the country.

PANSA, Poland's national air traffic control authority, wants to increase charges for landing in the country almost 10-fold, Ryanair said today in a statement.

The Dublin-based carrier wants the Polish government to reverse PANSA's decision.

"Ryanair has decided to stop all negotiations with airports in Poland on the development of any bases as this cost increase has made many of the prospective and actual routes economically unviable," the airline said.

The carrier had been talking with five Polish cities, it said.

Ryanair said earlier it will temporarily stop flying to seven European cities this winter as record oil prices and slowing economies make the routes unprofitable. The airline is also grounding planes at London's Stansted airport and Dublin, its two biggest bases.

Bloomberg