IT was supposed to be a warm welcome from a town excited by the prospect of business with the first major flight operator out of Blackpool Airport.

But "If you're looking for a fly-on connection, then we don't want your business!" was the message from Ryanair boss, Michael O'Leary, to Deputy Mayor, Cllr Norman Hardy.

The MD flew into Blackpool Airport in an elaborate PR exercise designed to announce new lower fares on Ryanair's Blackpool routes which start next month.

But following a runway greeting from a welcoming party including a lycra-clad Pleasure Beach showgirls, stilt-walkers, a swing band and a clutch of council and tourism board executives and a posing session for the army of Ryanair press office photographers ferried in on his Boeing 747 -- the self-styled "ebullient" MD got straight to the point after Cllr Hardy raised the question of fly-on connections.

O'Leary said: "If you are looking to make a booking for a connection to other flights then we do not want your business.

"The way the airports at Stansted and Dublin are set up means that incoming passengers have to go through the process of departing flights before checking back in again.

"There is no process in place which will transfer luggage onto new flights and other services cannot wait for anyone being transferred from a Ryanair flight."

The news will come as a blow for many local people who were hoping to use the new Blackpool to London Stansted route, which starts on May 1, to connect to other low cost flights.

Ryanair -- who hail themselves as Europe's largest low fares airline -- have already sold more than 8,000 seats on the Blackpool to London Stansted route and around 7,000 bookings on the Dublin service.

Vice Chairman of the Blackpool Airport Committee, Cllr Hardy, believes the Ryanair link will be a "fantastic opportunity" for tourism and business in the town.

But he is concerned that many customers are under the impression they can make fly-on connections with Ryanair.

Cllr Hardy said: "It's superb news that Ryanair are setting up shop in Blackpool and I fully support this as a fantastic opportunity for the town's tourism and business sectors.

"But I had a feeling connections to other flights would not be encouraged due to lack of facilities and the whole A to B nature of low cost flights.

"People looking to buy Ryanair flights need to be made aware that multi-destination bookings are not possible."