Ryanair is to cut 670 flights a week, close ten routes and reduce frequency on a further 30 routes in the biggest winter shake-up for the airline so far.

The low-cost carrier refused to specify which routes would be affected. It will move some operations from its largest base, at Stansted, Essex, to Spain, which is abolishing airport landing fees this winter to try to keep tourist numbers up. Greece has also eliminated landing fees and airports around Europe are understood to be arranging discounts with airlines to keep services operating.

Michael O’Leary, the chief executive of Ryanair, criticised the Government for increasing Air Passenger Duty (APD) when airlines are struggling to attract passengers.

Belgium and the Netherlands have recently eliminated air-travel taxes and Mr O’Leary urged Gordon Brown to follow suit. “Aircraft are the ultimate mobile assets,” Mr O’Leary said. “I will put them where it’s cheapest.”

The Office for National Statistics said this month that tourist visits to the UK had fallen to 31.9 million last year, from 32.8 million in 2007.

BAA, the airports operator, has experienced a sharp drop in passenger numbers this year, down 7.5 per cent in the first six months. Stansted, a hub for low-cost operators, reported a 14.4 per cent fall in passenger numbers during the first half.

Mr O’Leary said that a combination of “insane and damaging” taxes and landing charges was deterring passengers.

APD for one-way, short-haul flights to Europe has doubled to £10 since 2006 and will increase to £12 by the end of next year; that is a 140 per cent increase in four years. Landing charges at Stansted have risen from about £2.80 per passenger in 2006 to £6.53 this year.

Jim McAuslan, the general secretary of Balpa, the airline pilots’ union, said: “This tax is going to increase dramatically in the next couple of years and will undoubtedly put flying out of the reach of many families and could cripple the industry.”

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