Ryanair, Europe’s largest budget airline, has cut its flight roster across the continent this year in response to higher taxes and aviation fees.
The low-cost carrier will operate fewer journeys to and from Brit-favourite destinations from 2025 onwards, with some changes to its services already in effect.
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary hit out at the UK Government’s decision to increase air passenger duty (APD) in the October budget last year.
He described the rise in APD for passengers in economy on a short-haul flight from £13 to £15 as “insane” and representative of “a rate of tax of 33% on Ryanair’s average ticket price”.
And the UK is not alone in proposing aviation tax rises that have not gone down well with the airline industry. Mr O’Leary also threatened to reduce the amount of Ryanair flights in France after the country’s government confirmed plans to double the per-passenger air tax in a bid to stem spiralling French finances.
The firm, in a list of ‘New Year resolutions for EU governments’ published on January 1, pointed a finger at the UK, France, and Germany as “three failing economies [that have] raised aviation taxes and suffered traffic declines. “
The airline also called for European governments to reduce or scrap Air Traffic Control (ATC) charges, suggesting that they should “be provided by governments and not paid for by airlines and passengers.”
“Too many of Europe’s economies, such as France, Germany and the UK, are stagnating under the dead hand of regulation, higher taxes and government mismanagement,” Mr O’Leary said.
“It is time to return to deregulation and focus on those policies that deliver growth. Aviation is the one industry in Europe that can deliver immediate and sustainable growth in traffic, tourism and jobs.”
He called on European leaders to “fix [the continent’s] broken ATC system, abolish aviation taxes, and return to the principle of free movement of citizens around Europe, and allow the low-fare airlines to do the rest”.
Until such a point has been reached, however, Ryanair has already begun cutting some of its routes to countries including Italy and Spain in protest of high taxation and caps on passenger numbers – which it described as an “artificial growth constraint”.
Italy
Ryanair said in January that it would remove an aircraft from Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci International Airport in response to the government’s plans to cap flight numbers and increase a passenger surcharge at the country’s major airports from April 1.
Denmark
Ryanair routes to and from the northern city of Aalborg in Denmark will cease operation at the end of March. Last month, the airline announced plans to close a two-aircraft base at Billund Airport. The changes were reportedly made in response to the Danish Government’s introduction of a new aviation tax of up to £5.58 per passenger, which came into effect in January.
Spain
The UK’s uncontested favourite holiday destination will also see its flight log cut this year, with 12 routes set to be axed from Ryanair’s summer schedule – the equivalent of around 800,000 seats. Ryanair announced these changes following “excessive” charges from Spanish airport operator Aena. The airline will also reduce air traffic by between five and 61% at regional bases in Santander, Asturias, Santiago and Vigo.
Germany
Ryanair will operate 12% fewer flights to and from Germany this summer, officials said last year, citing the country’s high ATC costs and aviation tax as the reason for the hike. A total of 22 routes from bases around the country will be axed, with services cut by 60% from the international Hamburg Airport and bases in the cities of Leipzig, Dortmund and Dresden also set to close.