Budget airline Ryanair is closing its hub in Berlin
25 April 11:44
Irish budget airline Ryanair is closing its hub in Berlin, withdrawing all seven of its aircraft from Berlin-Brandenburg Airport, and cutting the number of flights to the German capital by 50%. As a result, annual passenger traffic will drop from 4.5 million to 2.2 million people. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" citing DW.
According to the airline, the base will close on October 24, 2026, and the aircraft will be transferred to “cheaper airports in other EU countries that have abolished aviation taxes”: Sweden, Slovakia, Albania, and Italy. This decision came following Berlin Airport’s announcement of a 10% increase in fees for the period from 2027 to 2029.
“Meanwhile, its already high airport fees have risen by 50% since the Covid pandemic, even though Berlin’s passenger traffic has dropped by 30% from 36 million in 2019 to 26 million in 2025,” the Ryanair statement said.
The airline accused German aviation policy of “letting its citizens down” by relying on high aviation taxes and airport fees. For example, since 2019, the aviation tax has risen from €7.30 to €15.50 per passenger; security fees have doubled from €10 in 2024 to €20 per passenger by 2028; air traffic control fees have risen from €1 to €3.30 per passenger.
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Berlin-Brandenburg Airport, in turn, stated that the fee increases mentioned by Ryanair are not planned. According to the dpa news agency, airport representatives called Ryanair’s decision unexpected and added that the parties are currently in negotiations.
Staff will be able to find jobs in other parts of the Ryanair network
The report indicates that the airline will soon begin consultations with its staff. All flight crew members will be able to find positions “in other parts of the Ryanair network across Europe,” as the low-cost carrier will accelerate the growth of passenger traffic and, consequently, job opportunities.
Ryanair DAC CEO Eddie Wilson, commenting on the closure of the company’s Berlin base, stated that the German aviation industry “is in crisis”: “The government acknowledges that it is uncompetitive, yet there is no strategy to reduce aviation taxes or high airport fees.” He noted that since 2019, the airline has closed its bases in Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, and Stuttgart, and has also canceled all flights to Dresden, Leipzig, and Dortmund.
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