Ryanair halts growth in UK over tourist tax

"The collapse in UK air travel has seen Ryanair announce it is to scrap any plans for new services in and out of Britain. Announcing what it called a 'freeze on growth' at the nine UK airports from which it operates - headed by Stansted - Ryanair has blamed the fall in passenger numbers on Labour's £10-a-time, £2billion air-fare duty. 'Gordon Brown's £10 tourist tax will see Britain lose over 10 million passengers, 10,000 airport jobs and more than £2.5 billion in tourism spend in the UK this year alone,' said Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary."