Tickets had gone on sale for the flights, scheduled between October and March, but the carrier has now pulled the plug, after announcing a change to its winter programme at Malaga Airport.

Volotea said the move was down to a restructure of its bases in Venice and Nantes.

Alfons Claver, the company’s communications manager, said the move would not affect the airline’s presence in Malaga for the 2013 summer season.

He said the airline would be concentrating on shorter distance and domestic routes in Italy and France.

Claver added: “The reason has nothing to do with the routes themselves, which are working very well, but with our overall strategy to face the winter season, with a focus on short-haul routes and, above all, domestic routes in Italy and France.

“As we have bases in Venice and Nantes, this is where we will concentrate our capacity during these months.”