Paris (AFP) – Irish no-frills airline Ryanair said on Wednesday it was dropping three French airports over a “harmful” tax hike on air tickets and urged Paris to change course. “This astronomical tax makes France less competitive compared to other EU countries such as Ireland, Spain and Poland, which do not impose any air taxes,” the airline said in a statement.
Ryanair said it was dropping airports in Brive and Bergerac in southwestern France as well as the eastern city of Strasbourg, from where it served Portugal and Scotland. Ryanair had already dropped Vatry airport in northeastern France in the spring. The airline urged the French government to abolish the “harmful” air tax in order to make French aviation more competitive.
Ryanair said its decision follows “the French government’s failure to cancel an excessive increase in air tax, which was raised by 180 percent in March 2025”. The Solidarity Tax on Airline Tickets rose to 7.40 euros ($8.55) per passenger for domestic and European flights from 2.63 euros previously.
“At a time when France should be focusing on recovery and growth, Ryanair has no choice but to reduce its capacity for winter 2025 by 13 percent due to the French government’s failure to act against this harmful air tax,” said Jason McGuinness, Ryanair’s chief commercial officer. The airline said its decision followed numerous warnings from airlines and French airports that the tax hike would make many routes to France unprofitable, particularly at regional airports and during the winter season.
Ryanair said its decision will mean the loss of 25 routes and 750,000 seats in France this winter. “This completely avoidable loss will have a severe impact on regional connectivity, tourism and local employment,” it said. The airline said it would redirect capacity and investment to more competitive European markets such as Sweden, Hungary and Italy if the French government does not change course.
In contrast, if the government decides to drop the tax, Ryanair said it would respond with an investment of $2.5 billion, 25 new aircraft, a doubling of traffic to over 30 million passengers per year, and the creation of 750 additional jobs in French regions.
© 2024 AFP
