THE sudden cancellation of several Ryanair flights from Teesside Airport will not affect its long-term agreement, the Tees Valley Mayor said as he responded last night.

Ben Houchen said there had been "fluctuations" in demand as the low-cost carrier this week began to cancel a number of its holiday flights scheduled for later this month.

He has also denied claims suggesting that taxpayers money has been "subsidising" Ryanair for cancelled flights due to demand.

The Northern Echo earlier this week first reported that several flights to Alicante, Palma and Corfu had been cancelled with some routes temporarily dropped from two to just one per week.

Read more: Ryanair begins to cancel some holidaymaker flights from Teesside Airport

At the time, Teesside Airport attributed the cancellations to ongoing uncertainty around international travel, while acknowledging customers will be disappointed. 

The Northern Echo: Picture: TEESSIDE AIRPORTPicture: TEESSIDE AIRPORT

Ryanair had only made a return to the airport last month after more than a decade with the carrier's first flight to Palma in Majorca on June 1.

Part of a seven-year deal between the airport and the carrier, Mr Houchen previously said Ryanair had added further destinations in "rapid succession" due to demand so far.

But responding to the cancellation of some flights over the next fortnight, Mr Houchen appeared to suggest subsequent demand had been reduced.

He said: “Due to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding international travel it is inevitable that there will be fluctuations in demand.

"However, our airline partners are perfectly poised to quickly adapt to changes, as we witnessed when Faro was originally identified as a safe country to travel to."

But despite the cancellations, Mr Houchen said that he believed the long-term agreement than Ryanair and the airport had been unaffected.

He said: "Our long-term agreement with Ryanair is not affected at all and we thank them for being able to react rapidly to meet the needs of our passengers by offering new destinations when available and the opportunity to fly at a later date when restrictions allow.”

Following some of the cancellations, it had been suggested that the taxpayer had subsidised those flights unable to operate due to demand. 

But hitting back at such suggestions, Mr Houchen branded them as "not true."

He said: “Any suggestions that the flights are subsidised by the Tees Valley Combined Authority or Teesside International Airport are not true.”

The Northern Echo:

Teesside Airport this week said those affected would be offered a full refund and urged them to contact the airline direct for more information.

An airport spokesperson said: “We realise this will be disappointing, however operating during a pandemic was always going to be challenging and we have to be ready to react to the latest Government guidance.

"Any passengers affected by the change will be offered a full refund and should contact Ryanair customer support for further details.

"As we enter the summer holidays, we are hoping for a more stable schedule as the vaccine roll out expands and restrictions ease.”

The cancellations come as a review of the UK travel green list has continued to see the majority of Ryanair's Teesside destinations remain on the amber list.

It means that those returning from the likes of Alicante in Spain and Corfu in Greece must self-isolate for ten days upon their return.

--

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow our dedicated Teesside Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.

For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054