The high airport fees and taxes in Germany are a thorn in the side of Ryanair boss O’Leary. The airline manager announces consequences: passengers in Berlin have to be prepared for a reduced offer. Two smaller airports will benefit from the move.
Europe’s largest low-cost airline Ryanair is thinning out its flight schedule for Berlin, citing high airport fees as the reason for this. The Irish company said that the winter program for the capital will be reduced by 40 percent or 230 weekly flights compared to the pre-crisis winter of 2019/20.
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary said in Berlin that he regretted this step. “However, the higher airport costs in Berlin make it more attractive for us to switch aircraft to cheaper alternatives in other regions of Germany and Europe.” This applies, for example, to the airports in Nuremberg and Leipzig.
In addition to Berlin, O’Leary also described Frankfurt am Main as an expensive airport. Ryanair had already closed its base at Germany’s largest airport in March and justified this with uncompetitive airport fees. O’Leary said anti-consumer cost hikes helped Germany’s air travel plummet 28 percent this summer – “making Germany the slowest recovering market in Europe.”
The airline manager called on the German government and major German airports to reduce airport fees and federal taxes “to encourage the recovery of German air travel, tourism and jobs.”
Ryanair is Europe’s largest airline and extremely cost-conscious. The airline got by largely without state aid during the Corona crisis – unlike competitors like Lufthansa, which had to be supported with billions. O’Leary called the German rival “subsidy junkie”. In the meantime, however, Lufthansa has repaid the state aid and the federal government has left.
