Ryanair cancelled nine routes to Fuerteventura on Wednesday, sending a warning to other airport operators that they could lose their flights if they refused to comply with the budget airline's demands.

More than 5,000 passengers booked on flights from January 31 have had their winter holidays in the Canary Islands cancelled. Their fares will be refunded but Ryanair is refusing to compensate them for any car hire or hotel bookings, including those made on the airline's website.

Only last week, Ryanair condemned bmibaby for leaving passengers with “holiday plans ruined” by cancelling summer routes to Bordeaux, Milan, Prague and Rome.

Ryanair flew to Fuerteventura from a number of airports, including Stansted, Birmingham, East Midlands, Dublin and Shannon. The cancellations affect 23 flights a week.

Ryanair claimed that AIE, the tourism group in Fuerteventura, had failed to honour a commercial agreement with the airline to promote Fuerteventura as a tourist destination.

It is the second time in six weeks that Ryanair has cancelled flights after a dispute with an airport operator over a marketing agreement. In October, the airline announced the closure of its base at Valencia and the cancellation of 70 weekly flights after accusing the local authority of reneging on an agreement to promote its flights.

Ryanair keeps its costs low by requiring small airports, usually publicly owned, to agree to spend millions of pounds advertising its routes in return for commitments by the airline to deliver a certain volume of passengers. These agreements have prompted several complaints to the European Commission from airlines that have argued they were not offered the same terms.

With holiday bookings falling and airport owners seeking to reduce costs, Ryanair is facing a growing risk of other airports trying to renegotiate or pull out of marketing agreements.

Michael Cawley, deputy chief executive of Ryanair, said: “This is a very black day for Fuerteventura and one which will have a severe impact on tourism and the livelihoods of its islanders.” He had said much the same about the Valencia closure: “This is a very black day for the airport of Valencia and the city and region it serves.”

Ryanair closed two of its seven routes from Cork in October after a 20 per cent increase in charges.

An analysis by Ascend, the aviation consultancy, found that Ryanair had dropped 124 routes between January 2005 and July 2008.

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