- Ryanair cut 20 routes and 1.1m seats from Belgium for winter 2026.
- The cuts follow Belgium’s aviation tax increase from €2 to €7.
- Ryanair moved six aircraft to Italy, Slovakia and Sweden.
- Zaventem will retain only the Dublin route this winter.
- Ryanair predicted European airfares will rise 10pc to 20pc.
Ryanair has reduced its Belgium winter 2026 schedule with the loss of six aircraft, 1.1m seats and the closure of 20 routes across Brussels Charleroi and Zaventem. The cuts follow the Federal Government’s decision to raise Belgium’s aviation tax by 250pc from €2 in January 2025 to €7 in January 2027. Ryanair has moved aircraft to Italy, Slovakia and Sweden where aviation taxes have been abolished.
In Zaventem Ryanair will maintain only the Dublin route this winter, closing seven other routes and reducing from 300,000 to 100,000 seats. Airport charges at Zaventem have risen 25pc post-COVID. Ryanair submitted a seven-year growth plan to the Belgian government proposing growth to 16m passengers by 2032 with 17 new aircraft, 100 new routes and 1,000 new jobs if the tax is abolished.
Ryanair Group CEO Michael O’Leary predicted European airfares will rise 10pc to 20pc over the next 12 months. The airline noted that most European airlines are largely unhedged entering summer 2027. Ryanair expects airline bankruptcies and takeovers to reduce available seats.
Michael O’Leary shared “The Draghi Report warns that Europe must improve its competitiveness, yet the Belgian Govt is doing exactly the opposite. PM De Wever’s 250pc tax hike on air travel from €2 to €7 is a textbook example of how to discourage investment, collapse traffic and tourism and lose jobs as it hands growth to lower cost competitor EU States.”
