Ryanair won't expand in Belgium due to raised flight tax, CEO says
Irish low-cost airline Ryanair will not expand in Belgium this winter, mainly due to the increased flight tax, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said on Wednesday. The federal government recently increased the flight tax to 5 euros per ticket for flights over 500 kilometres.
Ryanair expects to carry 11 million passengers to and from Belgium this year. Brussels South Charleroi Airport remains its main base, accounting for 9.8 million passengers annually. The airline operates 18 aircraft there, serving 119 destinations. Three new routes—Katowice (Poland), Salerno (Italy) and Volos (Greece)—will be added this winter.
In contrast, Zaventem Airport near Brussels is set to shrink. Ryanair will cut six per cent of its flights there, reducing its winter network to eleven routes compared to twelve last year. The carrier expects to handle around 1.2 million passengers at Zaventem.
O’Leary blamed the cuts on “already very high airport charges” combined with Belgium's new flight tax. The government recently increased the levy on flights over 500 kilometres to five euros per ticket, up from two or four euros previously.
According to the CEO, Belgium’s “150 per cent increase” in flight tax is the main obstacle to further growth in the country. “Belgium is making its tourism even less competitive compared to other EU countries,” he said, urging policymakers to follow the example of Sweden, Albania, Italy and Hungary, which have scrapped similar environmental taxes.
PHOTO © PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP
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