RYANAIR HAS ANNOUNCED that it will cut 30 percent of its flights at its Frankfurt Hahn base from next summer, RTÉ reports.

The 2011 summer schedule will have a reduced fleet of eight instead of the previous 11, and a fall in the number of flights from 400 from 500.

The cuts will result in 150 pilots and cabin crew working at the airport losing their jobs, however the airline said they will be offered the opportunity to relocate.

The cuts will also affect workers not directly employed by the airline, Ryanair said, and will lead to the loss of as many as 1,000 tourism-related jobs at Frankfurt Hahn.

Nine routes from the Frankfurt Hahn base will be closed altogether: Agadir, Berlin, Gdansk, Gothenburg, Klagenfurt, Prague, Santiago, Seville and Wroclaw. A further 15 will suffer reduced frequencies.

The airline has blamed the German government’s proposed €8 tourist tax for the decision.

“The German government’s €8 tourist tax will do significant damage to traffic and tourism in Germany next year,” said Ryanair’s Michael Cawley.