Ryanair has announced 50 jobs are to go and 10 routes are being cancelled at Liverpool John Lennon Airport.

The budget airline said rising Air Passenger Duty (APD) and falling sterling exchange rates have led to a "collapse" in traffic at Liverpool.

Ryanair is to operate six aircraft from the airport instead of seven, a move which it says will result in 200,000 fewer passengers this year.

Routes to Budapest and Paris are among those taken off this summer's schedule.

Ryanair's Michael Cawley said: "The combination of the high cost government APD and falls in sterling has already created a traffic collapse at Liverpool Airport.

You can only promote tourism by welcoming visitors, not taxing them Michael Cawley, Ryanair

"The decision by the UK government to continue to impose high APD charges and increase them over the next two years is completely unacceptable given the current economic climate.

"Ryanair has repeatedly called for this tax to be scrapped by highlighting that such travel taxes have failed in both the UK and Dutch markets, where they immediately resulted in traffic declines and, sadly, these declines look set to continue.

"This government must realise you can only promote tourism by welcoming visitors, not taxing them."

Flights to Budapest, Faro, Paris, Friedrichshafen, Gdansk, Lodz, Salzburg, Santiago, Szczecin and Valencia have been cancelled this summer.

The airline said more cuts to its winter schedule would be announced in due course.