Low-cost airline Ryanair has cancelled 25 flights to and from Birmingham in central England and said this was a result of the strike by Boeing employees.

The strike has delayed the delivery of new aircraft and Ryanair said that, as a result, it will not be able to operate flights on 21 routes to/from Birmingham between 24 and 28 October. Customers who have already bought tickets for the cancelled services will be given a refund.

Ryanair said that it has secured an aircraft to operate all scheduled services to and from Birmingham from 29 October.

Last month Ryanair postponed the planned opening of its new base in Edinburgh, Scotland, because the strike action at Boeing had affected the delivery of two new aircraft that were expected to fly the new routes. The start of flights from Edinburgh was delayed by six weeks, from 23 September to 5 November.

Launched on 6 September, the strike involves almost 27,000 Boeing employees and has forced the manufacturer to halt production.