The government plans to double the aviation tax on flights of more than 500km from 5 to 10 euros per passenger from next year. Finance minister Jan Jambon recently indicated that the government did not intend to reverse the measure.

If the increase goes ahead, Ryanair says it will remove five of its 19 aircraft from its base at Charleroi Airport from the winter season. The airline also plans to cut 20 routes in Belgium — 15 from Charleroi and five from Brussels Airport — reducing capacity by around 2 million passengers a year.

According to Ryanair, the move would also affect around 150 jobs in Charleroi, although pilots and cabin crew would be offered opportunities to transfer to other bases.

“Costs for staff and fuel are more or less the same everywhere,” said Ryanair DAC chief executive Eddie Wilson. “The only variable cost is access costs: government taxes, airport charges and handling fees. We are not going to add capacity in airports, regions or countries where those costs are increasing.”

The dispute comes despite a recent victory for Charleroi Airport, after the Walloon government refused to approve a separate municipal tax of 3 euros per passenger proposed by the city of Charleroi. Airport operator BSCA welcomed the decision but warned that the federal aviation tax remained the main obstacle to growth. The Walloon government has also urged the federal authorities to reconsider the increase.

O’Leary noted that Ryanair still wants to expand in Belgium. “We would like to realise part of our growth in Charleroi and Brussels Airport, but then the aviation tax must be abolished and airport costs must come down,” he said.

The airline says that if the tax increase is abandoned, the planned cuts would not go ahead. If the tax were abolished entirely, Ryanair claims it could increase passenger numbers in Belgium by roughly 50 per cent by 2030, to around 16 million passengers annually.

However, O’Leary ruled out any suggestion that Ryanair would close its Charleroi base altogether. “We will not threaten to close Charleroi,” he said. “It is one of our larger bases and we have spent the past 30 years helping to build up the airport.”

Credits: Ryanair

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The budget airline could withdraw planes from its Charleroi base as soon as this winter if Belgium goes ahead with plans to double its tax on airline tickets. “But we are not going to completely close the Charleroi base,” said Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary during a press visit to the company’s headquarters in Dublin. The federal government is looking to double the airfare tax on flights exceeding 500 kilometres from next year, pushing it up from 5 to 10 euros.

This would bring the levy in line with that applied to short-haul flights, although the tax on these is also set to rise to 11 euros. Finance Minister Jan Jambon made clear this week that he has no plans to reverse the decision.

As a result, Ryanair would remove five of its 19 aircraft currently operating out of Charleroi from this winter. Twenty routes would be scrapped, 15 at Charleroi and five at Zaventem representing a loss of two million passengers per year, Mr O’Leary confirmed.

Ryanair warns that scaling back its Charleroi operations would also put approximately 150 jobs at risk, though affected pilots and cabin crew, many of whom are foreign nationals, would be offered positions at alternative bases. However, “we want to grow in Belgium,” Mr O’Leary said.

“Ryanair aims to increase passenger numbers from 208 million in 2025 to 300 million in the coming years. We want to achieve some of this growth at Charleroi and Zaventem, but for that to happen, the tax on airline tickets must be eliminated, and airport fees must be reduced.”

According to Ryanair’s chief executive, if the tax on airline tickets is not raised, no aircraft will be withdrawn from Charleroi Airport and the situation will remain unchanged. Should the tax be scrapped entirely, it would open the door to further expansion across Belgium.

Ryanair has put forward a growth strategy projecting almost 50% more passengers in Belgium by 2030, pushing the total to 16 million. The Irish carrier would then reopen its base at Brussels Airport, a hub it continues to operate from but where it no longer stations any aircraft, and would even weigh up flights to and from Liège.

This ambitious expansion plan will only come to fruition, however, if all of Ryanair’s demands are met, most notably a loosening of restrictions on night flights in Brussels. On the flip side, any hike in the airline ticket tax would result in a scaling back of operations.

The closure of the Charleroi base isn’t under consideration, though. “Normally, we would never close Charleroi,” said O’Leary. “We’re not going to threaten to close Charleroi. It’s one of our largest bases, and we’ve invested a lot of time and effort in developing this airport over the last thirty years. But in the long term, we could reduce the base to, say, 10 aircraft.”

O’Leary also touched on the soaring cost of aviation fuel, a result of the conflict in the Middle East. The airline has locked in 80% of its fuel requirements until next March at an average cost of $67 per barrel, while the current rate stands at $100 or above.

“We aren’t hedging for the following period yet, as we anticipate prices falling in the coming months. But we could be wrong. If prices haven’t fallen by September, we’ll start to worry.”

With consumer uncertainty prevailing, O’Leary doesn’t expect any fare rises this summer. “Fares should remain stable. We need to incentivise people to travel by offering slightly lower prices” than the 3% to 5% increase that had been forecast.

Credits: Ryanair

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