BARCELONA, August 14, 2008 (AFP) - Irish budget airline Ryanair said Thursday its decision to cancel reservations made at third-party websites would take effect on August 26.

The no-frills carrier said last week it would not honour 'unlawful' bookings that were not made on its own website and its telephone reservations line.

It accused what it called screenscraping websites such as lastminute and eDreams of levying 'unnecessary' handling charges, of failing to provide up to date flight information and of delaying access to the airline's own website by its customers.

Sinead Finn, the airline's director of commercial revenue, clarified at a news conference in Barcelona Thursday that the decision would be effective two weeks from last Monday, or on August 26.

She said passengers affected would be reimbursed.

Spain's transport ministry on Tuesday said it was investigating Ryanair over the decision, which Spanish media said could affect about 1,000 air reservations a day in Spain.

The Spanish-based eDreams website vowed Thursday to take 'suitable legal measures' if Ryanair violates the rights of its customers.

The airline has already taken legal action against two sites, Ireland's Bravofly and V-tours of Germany, to prevent them from listing Ryanair flights.