Ryanair is shutting another European base and scrapping 12 routes across six countries this winter, blaming soaring airport charges and taxes.
File photo of Ryanair plane(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Ryanair is closing another European base with 12 routes to six different countries scrapped. Over the weekend, the budget airline announced the closure of its three-aircraft Thessaloniki base and reductions in capacity at Athens Airport for the coming winter.
It says 700,000 seats and 12 routes will be lost as a result. The Irish airline said: “This devastating loss in off-peak winter connectivity is the direct result of the hopelessly uncompetitive costs charged at the German-run Fraport Greece monopoly and Athens Airport.
The move is the latest attempt to push governments and airports into cutting Ryanair’s tax bill.
Full list of cancelled routes
- Thessaloniki to Berlin
- Thessaloniki to Chania
- Thessaloniki to Frankfurt-H
- Thessaloniki to Gothenburg
- Thessaloniki to Heraklion
- Thessaloniki to Niederrhein
- Thessaloniki to Poznan
- Thessaloniki to Stockholm
- Thessaloniki to Venice-T
- Thessaloniki to Zagreb
- Athens to Milan-M
- Chania to Paphos
Ryanair has also withdrawn its aircraft from Chania and Heraklion.
While Ryanair hasn’t said as much, its statement suggests the base and routes could reopen once the 2026/27 winter season is over, Mirror UK reports.
A spokesperson said: “The Greek government made the wise decision to reduce the Airport Development Fee (ADF) by 75% (from €12 to €3 per passenger) from November 2024, which should have directly stimulated year-round connectivity and tourism across Greece.
“However, most Greek airports, particularly those run by Fraport Greece, refused to pass the tax cut onto passengers and instead have pocketed the tax cut for themselves. Since then, Fraport Greece have continued to increase charges, which are now +66% above their pre-Covid levels. Likewise, Athens Airport will hike charges this Winter.
“Consequently, Greek airports are no longer competitive in the off-peak shoulder and Winter months, when the tourism industry’s reliance on low-fare connectivity is most acute. Ryanair has therefore been left with no choice but to reallocate capacity to more competitive countries like Albania, regional Italy, and Sweden, where airports have passed on the savings from Govt. tax reductions.”
Fraport, which operates 14 airports in Greece as well as other major European travel hubs such as Frankfurt, has hit back at the move. In a statement, it claimed Ryanair’s decision is “exclusively related” to the carrier’s commercial strategy and profitability considerations.
A spokesperson said: “Any claims linking this decision to airport charges or the airport development fee imposed by the Greek state are entirely unfounded.” The statement added that Fraport Greece has invested over €100 million to upgrade Thessaloniki.
Ryanair has threatened to scale back on its ambitious plans for Greece, which had included launching 50 new routes over the next five years.
The Ryanair statement said: “However, this growth can only be delivered if airport charges are frozen and the 75% Airport Development Fee reduction is passed on to passengers at all airports. Regrettably, Greece will continue to miss out on investment opportunities, tourism, and traffic development until Fraport Greece and Athens abandon their shameless practice of pocketing this tax cut.”
Last month, Ryanair called on the Government of Austria to ditch its €12 aviation tax by May 1 over concerns that it could lead to a “decline in airlines, routes, and traffic serving Austrian airports”. The airline noted that the €12 tax has made “Austria uncompetitive”, as countries such as Albania, Italy and Slovakia have opted to revoke aviation taxes, lower ATC fees and introduce growth incentive schemes to help reduce airport costs for airlines.
As much as Ryanair’s bosses may not like the levy, the aviation industry has long benefitted from generous tax breaks. Even now, no fuel duty is paid on jet fuel, and no VAT is applied. This is in sharp contrast to other modes of transport.
The Aviation Environment Federation said: “Aviation’s exemption from fuel duty and VAT appears more like an indirect subsidy that allows airfares to be kept artificially low. The absence of tax has helped to fuel passenger growth and the sector’s CO2 emissions have increased 125% since 1990. Over the same period, the UK’s overall emissions decreased by 43%.”
At the same time, Ryanair announced that it was shutting its Berlin operating base and cutting its winter schedule to the German capital in half, blaming soaring aviation taxes in the country.
The Irish budget carrier said its relocation of seven aircraft to other centres would reduce its Berlin passenger numbers from 4.5 million to 2.2 million a year.
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