Ryanair has threatened to cease operations to 10 regional airports in France if the government’s decision to increase passenger taxes by 260 per cent goes ahead.
The announcement, made in October, stated that the French government would raise aviation tax to compensate for the country’s EUR3.228 trillion national debt starting from January 2025. Airlines and airports immediately raised concerns over the impact the plan would have on passenger traffic and the local economy, with previous cases of countries removing the tax proving to be effective.
The airline commented on the decision, stating that it represented a targeted attack on ordinary French citizens and regional areas, due to the exemption of long-haul Parisian passengers from the increase. With the knock-on effects potentially leading to reduced tourism to regional airports, higher fares, and job losses, Ryanair has decided to cut down its schedule to regional France should the plans materialise.
Jason McGuinness, Ryanair’s Chief Commercial Officer, released the following statement:
“The French government’s proposal to increase its already excessive passenger tax is short-sighted, ill-conceived and designed to further derail the recovery of the French aviation industry. France and Germany are among the most depressed aviation markets in Europe and, thanks to recent increases in aviation taxes, they will be further outpaced by competing economies such as Spain and Poland, where there are no taxes, as well as Italy, Sweden and Hungary, which have abolished aviation taxes.
“The impact of the passenger tax increase will be most damaging to regional France, which relies on competitive access costs, while, perversely, wealthy long-haul Parisian passengers continue to be exempt. Unfortunately, given that this unjustified increase in passenger tax will render many routes to/from regional France unviable, Ryanair is currently reviewing its French schedules and expects to reduce capacity to/from French regional airports by up to 50% from January 2025 if the French government goes ahead with its short-sighted plan to triple passenger taxes.
“We call on the French government to immediately abandon its plans to triple passenger taxes in order to protect investment, connectivity, tourism and jobs across regional France.”
Photo: Ryanair
