EASYJET and Ryanair have been rapped by a watchdog for “misleading” holiday makers in the latest battle of the budget airlines.

Three advertisements, published in national newspapers, were banned after they were found to have made false claims relating to cheap flights.

While easyJet was attacked for the bold statement, “We charge you less”, its Irish arch-rival – who complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) – was itself pulled up over two separate promotions.

The first easyJet offer, headlined “The new shape of business travel”, sparked anger from its competitor who insisted its own fares were cheaper on a number of routes.

Ryanair’s objection was upheld and easyJet was ordered not to run the advertisement again in its current form.

However, Michael O’Leary’s carrier did not escape unscathed after the watchdog ordered it to pull two of its own promotions.

One, featuring a bikini-clad woman holding a cocktail and the text “Book to the sun now!”, offered flights from £8.

However, a close examination revealed customers were limited to destinations with maximum temperatures of 11°C. In some places, the mercury dropped as low as 0°C during the promotional period.

Meanwhile, the selected tourist spots enjoyed as little as three hours of sunshine each day, the watchdog said.

“We considered that the average consumer would infer from the claim ’Book to the sun now’ and the image of the woman sunbathing, in a bikini, with a cocktail, that the promotion included fares to destinations warm enough to sunbathe in swimwear during the promotional period,” it added.

“Because we understood this was not the case, we concluded that the ad was misleading.”