Her connection has been disconnected Ryanair from Berlin to Chania, among other connections, for the summer of 2025, following the carrier’s decision to reduce its flight schedule from the German capital by a fifth due to high location costs, it said.
At a time when Berlin needs to grow, Ryanair has no choice but to cut capacity by 20% due to ‘horrendous flight costs’ as the airline’s CEO Eddie Wilson said from Berlin.
The number of Ryanair aircraft based at Berlin Airport will be reduced from nine to seven, resulting in 750,000 fewer seats in the 2025 summer season starting in April. Routes are also lost they affect Brussels, Kaunas, Luxembourg and Riga.
Ryanair will transfer the lost seats at Berlin Airport to other lower-cost EU countries, including Italy, Poland and Spain, according to the carrier.
Mr Wilson indicated that the carrier should begin discussions with employee representatives to resolve the implications of the workforce cuts. On average, there are 30 direct employees for each aircraft, of which approximately 20 are cabin crew members and 10 are pilots.
Ryanair has long called on the federal government to cut air traffic taxes and charges. Just last week Mr Wilson said: “If these extremely high taxes are not reduced, Ryanair will remove a further 1.5 million seats from its German offer in the summer of 2025.”
Germany should reverse the recent increase in air traffic tax and eventually abolish this tax. In addition, the federal government should reduce rising air traffic control fees and delay an increase planned for January 2025, the airline said.
Due to the relatively high costs of air traffic, Germany is lagging far behind other countries in the post-coronavirus recovery of aviation. Other airlines such as Easyjet have also reduced their offerings in the past and “no one is filling the gap”, as Mr Wilson pointed out.
According to the German Aviation Association (BDL), in the first half of the year supply in Germany was at 71% of 2019 levels, while in Europe supply was on average 112% higher than before the coronavirus crisis. The market share of Ryanair, Easyjet and Wizz Air in Germany is 26% and in the rest of Europe 42%.
According to BDL, German airports have the highest government location costs in Europe: According to data from the German Aerospace Center, a typical mid-haul Airbus A320 flight to Frankfurt, Stuttgart or Düsseldorf costs around €4,400 in taxes and fees, which is almost €25 per passenger and 84% more than in 2019. In Rome it is about half and in Madrid does not exceed 660 euros. In Dublin, home of Ryanair, taxes and fees are just €244.
BDL and the airport association ADV are sounding the alarm that Germany’s air links with Europe are getting weaker, which hurts the economy. Air traffic taxes account for the largest share (53%), followed by aviation security fees for airport screening (39%). The smallest component is air traffic control fees (8%). Fees and charges are expected to increase further in 2025.
