BERLIN (Reuters) – Irish airline Ryanair said on Tuesday it would cut traffic at Berlin Brandenburg airport by 20 percent, following through on threats to scale back its presence in the German capital because of some of the highest charges in Europe.
The cuts, which will result in the loss of 750,000 seats from April 2025, will also see the number of Ryanair aircraft based in Berlin fall from nine to seven, the low-cost carrier said as it revised upwards its summer fare forecast.
Ryanair also said it plans to cancel six routes serving Brussels, Krakow, Riga, Luxembourg, Kaunas and Chania, Crete.
The airline had warned it would shift capacity to other European countries if Germany did not meet its demands to reverse an aviation tax hike and cut air traffic control charges.
The airport, which is the only one serving the German capital, said it deplored Ryanair’s decision but understood the criticism.
“The state tax on air traffic alone has more than doubled since 2019. The entire industry has been criticising this development for some time,” said a spokesperson for Berlin Brandenburg Airport.
The German transport ministry declined to comment on individual airline decisions, but said it was “examining measures to alleviate the significant increase in air traffic control costs for departures and arrivals.”
In an emailed statement to Reuters, Lufthansa’s low-cost subsidiary Eurowings said it was reviewing a plan to increase its services at Berlin Brandenburg airport in 2025.
Germany charges extremely high fees for the use of its airports compared to other European Union countries, according to the German aviation lobby BDL.
At Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Dusseldorf airports, a typical medium-haul flight on an Airbus A320 costs around 4,400 euros in taxes and charges, according to data from the German Center for Aeronautics.
For comparison, Dublin Airport, where Ryanair is based, charges a much lower fee of €244.
(Reporting by Klaus Lauer in Berlin and Ilona Wissenbach in Frankfurt, written by Miranda Murray; by Pauline Foret; edited by Kate Entringer)
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