Ryanair to Close Berlin Base Citing 'Most Failing Airport in Europe'

Europe’s largest airline Ryanair will soon bid farewell to its Berlin base, with plans to halt its seven aircraft operations in the German capital on 24 October. The carrier pointed to Berlin as the "most failing airport in Europe", citing an air traffic decline of 27% – from 36 million passengers in 2019, down to 26 million last year. “All seven Berlin-based aircraft will in this case be reallocated to lower cost airports in other EU states that have abolished aviation taxes like Sweden, Slovakia, Albania and Italy,” the budget airline’s statement said. In its winter schedule, Ryanair will reduce the number of flights it operates to and from Berlin by 50%. The carrier’s grievances also stem from what Ryanair DAC CEO Eddie Wilson referred to as a "stupid aviation tax regime”, whereby the German commercial aviation model, heavily reliant on high taxes, has failed people. Wilson also slammed German aviation as “broken”, with no exit plan to lower aviation taxes or high airport fees. “Since 2019, Ryanair has been forced to close its bases in Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Stuttgart (resulting in the loss of 13 based aircraft) in addition to stopping all flights to Dresden, Leipzig and Dortmund,” he added. According to the carrier, aviation tax doubled since 2019 from €7.30 to €15.50 per passenger, security fees are expected to double from €10 in 2024 to €20 per passenger by January 2028, air traffic control fees have trebled to €3.30 per passenger and on top of airport fees already increasing by 50% since the Covid-19 era, a further 10% increase will come into force by 2029. This sentiment apparently came as a surprise to Berlin Brandenburg Airport. “We are surprised by Ryanair's announcement at this point in time,” the airport said in a statement via X. “We are engaged in ongoing negotiations with the airlines. An increase in airport charges is not planned.” The budget carrier’s announcement also comes after news from Germany’s Finance Ministry of the Federal Cabinet approving plans to roll back flight taxes (Luftverkehrsteuer) to 2024 levels. “The Federal Ministry of Finance considers it important that the reductions are passed on to travellers,” the ministry’s statement said.