Ryanair plans to cease operations at three regional French airports and reduce its overall capacity in the country in response to the French government¡¯s ¡°excessive¡± air tax hikes.
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The budget carrier on Wednesday (30 July) said it will reduce capacity in France by 13 per cent for the upcoming winter season ¨C resulting in 750,000 fewer seats and the cancellation of 25 routes ¨C and will shut down its operations at Bergerac, Brive and Strasbourg airports.
This move follows the French government's decision to increase its Airline Ticket Solidarity in March, despite?heavy criticism from aviation groups.
The tax hike applies to all domestic and international flights from France. For domestic and intra-Europe flights, the tax has increased from €2.63 to €7.40 per passenger for economy bookings and from €20.27 to €30 in business class.
Tax rates for mid-haul flights increased from €7.51 to €15 for economy and premium economy passengers, while long-haul flights now incur a levy of €40 in economy and premium economy cabins (up from €7.51) and €120 in business (up from €63.07).
¡°Unless the government changes course and abolishes this unfair air tax, Ryanair's capacity and investment in France will inevitably be redirected to more competitive European markets such as Sweden, Hungary or parts of Italy, where governments are actively removing air taxes to stimulate traffic, tourism, employment and economic recovery,¡± said Ryanair chief commercial officer Jason McGuinness.
"It is unacceptable that a major European country like France is falling so far behind the rest of the EU, with traffic still below pre-Covid levels, because of excessive government-imposed taxes and security charges, which are rendering many French regional routes unprofitable, particularly in winter," he added.
The carrier said it ¡°could envisage ambitious growth in France in the coming years¡±, including a $2.5 billion investment in new aircraft and a doubling of traffic to more than 30 million passengers per year, ¡°if the French government decides to completely eliminate this harmful air tax¡±.