Ryanair boost for Edinburgh after Little Red demise

Budget airline Ryanair is to increase services from Edinburgh next year following the demise of Virgin Atlantic’s Little Red offshoot.
Budget airliner may also consider returning to Aberdeen. Picture: PABudget airliner may also consider returning to Aberdeen. Picture: PA
Budget airliner may also consider returning to Aberdeen. Picture: PA

Chief executive Michael O’Leary also told The Scotsman today that the carrier would “love” to return to Aberdeen, having withdrawn from the Granite City in 2011.

Virgin Atlantic said yesterday that Little Red, which launched in March last year, is being scrapped due to a lack of business travellers and a “totally inadequate” number of runway slots offered up by regulators.

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The airline will stop flying from Heathrow to Manchester in March, with services to Aberdeen and Edinburgh ceasing in September.

Ryanair is due to start flying three times a day from Edinburgh and Glasgow International to London Stansted on 26 October.

O’Leary said: “I talked to Edinburgh Airport last night and we’re going to increase our frequencies from three flights daily to five flights daily in the autumn of 2015.

“This is an immediate response to Little Red stopping their flights, which means we’ll keep the capacity up and the prices down.”

O’Leary predicted that this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow will lead to increased demand from European travellers keen to visit Scotland, “which is why we’re adding nine new routes next summer from Glasgow International and we’ll still have 16 from Prestwick and 32 from Edinburgh”.