Ryanair canceled 34 flights

Ryanair announced on Wednesday it is canceling 18,000 flights, affecting almost 400,000 passengers, between November and March.

The low-cost airline described the move as “slowing its growth”, saying it will fly 25 fewer aircraft of its 400-strong fleet in order to “eliminate all risk of further flight cancellations because slower growth creates lots of spare aircraft and crews across Ryanair’s 86 bases this winter.”

Passengers impacted by the suspended routes can choose between a refund or an alternative flight and will receive a €40 (€80 return) travel voucher which will allow them to book a flight on any Ryanair service between October and March 2018.

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said: “We sincerely apologize to those customers who have been affected by last week’s flight cancellations or these sensible schedule changes announced today."

He added: "We deeply regret any doubt we caused existing customers last week about Ryanair’s reliability or the risk of further cancellations."

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has now threatened Ryanair with legal action for “persistently misleading” passengers whose flights it has canceled because of a shortage of pilots.

Customers affected should have already received an email from Ryanair. Here's the full list of all 34 routes suspended from November 2017 to March 2018.

Ryanair suspended routes

1. Bucharest – Palermo

2. Chania – Athens

3. Chania – Pafos

4. Chania – Thessaloniki

5. Cologne – Berlin (SXF)

6. Edinburgh – Szczecin

7. Glasgow – Las Palmas

8. Hamburg – Edinburgh

9. Hamburg – Katowice

10. Hamburg – Oslo (TF)

11. Hamburg – Thessaloniki