Ryanair says to chop Italian routes, jobs, blames government rider tax

European budget airline Ryanair same on weekday it'll cut routes and jobs in European nation later this year as a results of a forty % increase in rider departure taxes.

Ryanair same that from Gregorian calendar month it'd drop sixteen routes and 600 jobs once the Italian government this year raised departure taxes to nine euros ($9.81) from 6.50 euros to assist subsidise layoffs at former flagship carrier Alitalia.

"Ryanair had no alternative however to shut 2 of its fifteen Italian bases, Alghero and Pescara, and move its craft, pilots and crews to countries that have lower commercial enterprise prices," David Edna O'Brien, Ryanair's chief business officer, same during a company statement issued in Italian.

Cutting eight routes from the Sardinian town of Alghero, 5 from Pescara on Italy's Adriatic Sea coast and every one of its current service within the southern town of Crotone can cause 600 job losses and 800,000 consumer losses, Ryanair same.

The tax increase can "seriously harm Italian commercial enterprise," Edna O'Brien same, appealing for the govt to eliminate the tax that "will hand a golden chance for growth to destinations in European country, Portugal and Balkan state that have lower commercial enterprise costs".

On Monday, Ryanair proclaimed an enormous share repurchase of 800 million euros as a result of record rider numbers can enable it to hit its profit target while fares fall.

In a separate statement, Ryanair same it'd add four new routes for the "winter of 2016" from Rome to Bulgarian capital, Bulgaria, Nuremberg, Germany, Praha and Lanzarote within the Canaries.