Ryanair cancelling 12 routes including some in NI

Ryanair said it was disappointed 12 UK domestic and international routes had been cancelled

Ryanair has said it is cancelling 12 UK and international routes, including some at City of Derry and Belfast International airports.

The Irish carrier said the move is due to a policy change by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

The CAA has rejected this claim.

Ryanair said the CAA introduced new regulatory barriers ahead of the end of the Brexit transition, causing "unnecessary loss of connectivity to the UK economy".

The airline secured an operating licence for its UK subsidiary nearly two years ago to allow it to keep UK traffic rights, including flying between domestic destinations, and protect its operations from 1 January.

On Tuesday, Ryanair routes between Northern Ireland and Britain could be still be booked.

City of Derry Airport told BBC News NI it is "waiting for a further update from Ryanair post their ongoing discussions with the UK CAA, which resumed today".

A spokesperson for Ryanair said they were disappointed 12 UK domestic and international routes had been cancelled.

"Ryanair UK had agreed Brexit contingency arrangements with the CAA two years ago and cannot comply with its new and impractical requirements at 10 days' notice," the spokesperson said.

"We call on the CAA's David Kendrick and his management colleagues to respect this long-standing agreement and the CAA's own established policy in order to facilitate the return of these routes as soon as possible."

The airline operates two routes from City of Derry Airport and two from Belfast International Airport.

It is not yet clear which will be affected.

The airline operates two routes from Belfast International Airport

The UK aviation authority hit back at Ryanair.

In a statement published on its website, Paul Smith said: "It is incorrect for the airline to state that the UK Civil Aviation Authority has changed its wet-leasing policy at short notice."

Wet-leasing involves an aircraft being leased along with crew, maintenance and insurance.

"It has been our long-standing position that a UK airline with a significant presence in the UK, such as Ryanair UK does, should not rely heavily on using wet-leased, foreign-registered aircraft to undertake their operations," the statement continued.

"Doing so undermines the competitiveness of the UK aviation industry and the effectiveness of the regulatory regime. This is a view shared by regulators around the world and has nothing to do with our preparations for the end of the transition period.

"The decision to cancel these flights was taken by Ryanair alone. We will continue to engage with the airline on these matter as we seek to act in the best interest of consumers."

The CAA said Ryanair has one aircraft, of its more than 470, listed on the UK's register.