Ryanair calls for the early sale of Stansted

Ryanair has made a statement calling for the early sale of London Stansted after BAA figures confirmed that passenger traffic at the airport decreased by 13% in April (despite the Easter holiday) and highlighted that traffic has plummeted by 14% at London Stansted in the first four months of 2009.

Ryanair also called for Gordon Brown to follow the lead of the Belgian and Dutch Governments by scrapping his £10 tourist tax in response to the 8% fall in traffic at BAA’s UK airports so far this year which has resulted in over 3 million fewer passengers at BAA airports alone in the first four months of 2009.

Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said:

“Today’s confirmation that London Stansted traffic has collapsed by 14% so far this year proves that the Competition Commission’s recommendation that the airport be sold is the only way to protect London tourism and jobs and we call for the fast-tracking of its sale in order to tackle the airport’s plummeting traffic.

"The abysmal performance of the BAA airports underlines the urgent need for Government action to protect UK tourism and UK jobs. BAA airports have lost over 3 million passengers so far this year and the UK Government must follow the lead of the Belgian and Dutch Governments by scrapping its insane £10 tourist tax."