Ryanair is to switch or close nine of the 10 routes it currently operates from Manchester Airport, blaming the airport’s refusal to lower its charges.

The budget airline said the change would take effect from 1 October and would result in the loss of 44 weekly flights and up to 600 local jobs.

The firm said most affected flights would be switched to East Midlands, Leeds Bradford, and Liverpool airports.

A spokesman for Manchester Airport said Ryanair’s decision was “regrettable”.

Ryanair’s announcement comes a month after it said it would cut flights from London Stansted by 30 per cent over the winter period, also as a result of a dispute over airport charges.

The nine routes from Manchester that will close are those to Barcelona (Girona), Bremen, Brussels (Charleroi), Cagliari, Dusseldorf (Weeze), Frankfurt (Hahn), Marseille, Milan (Bergamo) and Shannon.

The airline said passengers affected by the changes would be e-mailed and, “provided with a full refund, or the alternative of flying to some destinations” from East Midlands, Leeds Bradford and Liverpool.

Ryanair said it had offered Manchester an additional 28 weekly flights if the airport agreed to reduce its charges, but that it had rejected the offer.

However, a spokesman for Manchester Airport said it did not “believe that charges as low as £3 per passenger are unreasonable”.

“We’ve consistently cut our charges for the last 15 years even when faced with increased costs such as security,” he added.

“Passengers will still be able to travel directly to the majority of the destinations affected by choosing other airlines.”