Manchester will lose 44 flights a week, carrying 600,000 passengers a year. The move will cost 600 jobs.

The cuts come into force from Oct 1, ending services to Bremen in Germany, Brussels (Charleroi), Cagliari in Sardinia, Düsseldorf (Weeze), Frankfurt-Hahn, Marseilles, Milan (Bergamo), Barcelona (Girona) and Shannon.

The withdrawal of services from Manchester is likely to anger Britons who will have to travel further to reach their second homes in the sun.

It comes amid warnings that the so-called “easyJet effect” – the property boom that blossomed on the back of low-cost flights – has left second home owners exposed to the risk of budget airlines withdrawing underperforming routes.

Passengers with flights booked after Oct 1 will be offered a refund or flights from Ryanair’s nearby bases in Liverpool and Leeds Bradford.A company spokesman said: “Ryanair continues to lower fares to encourage travel, but with passengers paying lower fares airports must lower their charges – particularly high-cost airports like Manchester, Stansted and Dublin.”

He added that the company had offered to fly an extra 28 flights from Manchester, bringing in 400,000 new customers a year, but it was turned down by the airport. The move away from Manchester comes within months of Ryanair announcing a 40 per cent cut in winter capacity at Stansted. A spokesman for Manchester Airport defended its charges.

“Notwithstanding all of our investment in Manchester Airport, we don’t believe charges as low as £3 per passenger are unreasonable. Clearly, Ryanair do and that’s regrettable.”

Holiday home owners could still get to their properties, he added. “Passengers will still be able to travel direct to most of the destinations affected by choosing other airlines.”