Air traffic: Ryanair tightens austerity measures in Vienna – further flights canceled

The low-cost airline Ryanair is implementing its threatened cuts at Vienna Airport and is blaming the Austrian government for them. For the 2026 winter flight schedule, the airline will withdraw four aircraft stationed in Vienna and discontinue twelve routes, the company announced on Wednesday. Ryanair had already reduced the offer for the summer flight schedule. The new cuts will affect 80 jobs.

As a justification, Ryanair referred to what they considered to be too high costs in Austria. The government failed to abolish the air traffic tax of twelve euros per ticket. In addition, air traffic control fees have increased by 60 percent and those at Vienna Airport by 30 percent since the corona pandemic. This makes the location uncompetitive compared to neighboring countries.

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary accused Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker of inaction in the statement. The cuts now announced are the direct result of this failure. An aid package of 30 million euros for aviation announced by the government in June was inadequate. O'Leary called on the Chancellor to scrap this package and instead abolish the aviation tax. Otherwise, Austria will continue to lose aircraft, routes and growth to cheaper EU neighbors.