Ryanair Draws Consequences from Tax Increases: Cuts Planned for UK Flights

The Irish low-cost airline Ryanair announced plans to reduce the number of flights to and from the United Kingdom by up to ten percent next year. The company cites the increasing air passenger duty, which is set to rise further according to the current budget plan of the UK government, as the reason. This decision could decrease air traffic to the UK by up to five million passengers. Ryanair's CEO, Michael O'Leary, criticized that the UK government has taken office to promote growth but instead is achieving the opposite. The first budget decision has considerably affected growth, tourism, and air traffic. In particular, Finance Minister Rachel Reeves's decision to further increase the already high air travel taxes will lead to cuts, not growth, according to O'Leary. The air passenger duty is levied on every ticket for departing from the UK, taking into account the travel distance and class. In the past, this tax has usually been raised in accordance with the Retail Price Index and would have increased for some flights from April 2025 anyway. However, the government now plans to increase the duty by an additional 13 percent by 2026-27. This means about two pounds more for short-haul economy class flights and twelve pounds for long-haul flights. Significant increases of 50 percent are also planned for the largest private jets, as announced by Reeves. Ryanair is threatening to withdraw flights from countries with high taxes. The airline had already announced plans to reduce seat numbers for flights to and from Germany by 1.5 million due to local air traffic taxes. Ryanair is also facing delays in aircraft deliveries from Boeing. Due to strikes at Boeing, Ryanair's largest European customer, the delivery of 30 Boeing 737 aircraft, which were planned for the upcoming summer season, is delayed. To resolve the wage dispute, Boeing presented a new offer with a 38 percent salary increase over four years. The union had originally demanded a 40 percent increase and rejected the previous offers. The vote on the new offer is scheduled for Monday.