Ryanair is expecting to reduce its capacity at French regional airports by 50% if the French government goes ahead with its planned hike of passenger taxes.
The Dublin based carrier has called on the French government to abandon its plan, which if to go ahead will increase passenger taxes by 260%. Ryanair has called this “a targeted attack on ordinary French citizens and regional France.”
The French government's plan to increase passenger taxes differs from other European nations such as Sweden, Hungary and Italy, which are abolishing air transport taxes. Currently Spain and Poland, have no taxes of this nature.
Jason McGuinness, Ryanair's chief commercial officer described the move as “short-sighted” and “ill-thought-out” by the French government: “France and Germany are among the worst-off aviation markets in Europe and, thanks to recent increases in aviation taxes, they will be further outpaced by competing economies such as Spain and Poland, where there are no taxes,”
He continued: “The impact of the tax increase on passengers will be most damaging to regional France, Ryanair is currently reviewing its French schedules and expects to reduce capacity to/from French regional airports by up to 50% from January 2025 if the French government goes ahead with its short-sighted plan to triple passenger taxes.”
This comes just over one month after the low-cost carrier announced that it would be reducing its operations from German airports during the summer period of 2025, cutting 1.8 million seats from its schedule along with 22 routes. This reduction at German airports was due to a dispute between the airline and the German government over aviation tax and air traffic control fees, which the airline has said is "hampering recovery and growth."
As a part of the planned cuts, Ryanair will cease all operations at Dortmund, Dresden and Leipzig, while reducing the number of flights operated out of Hamburg by 60%.
If the planned tax rises go ahead in France, they will come into force on from January 1,2025