Airline to Stop Flying Routes: High Taxes Ground Millions of Seats, Serbia Also Affected

The decision to reduce flights follows a very active business year in 2025, during which the company expanded its route network while also facing challenges such as delays in the delivery of Boeing aircraft.

Around three million seats could be cut in total, significantly impacting connectivity, especially for smaller cities, reports Euronews. Back in October 2025, Ryanair announced that it would cancel 24 routes to and from Germany in its winter schedule, reducing capacity by nearly 800,000 seats.

Nine airports are affected, including Hamburg Airport, Berlin Brandenburg Airport, Cologne Bonn Airport, and Frankfurt-Hahn Airport. Operations at Leipzig/Halle Airport, Dresden Airport, and Dortmund Airport will remain suspended throughout 2026. The airline cites high air traffic control and security charges, as well as Germany’s high aviation taxes, as the main reasons.

Germany Among the Slowest to Recover in Air Traffic

"Extremely high access costs in Germany stand in stark contrast to countries such as Ireland, Spain, and Poland, which have no aviation taxes, or Sweden, Hungary, and Italy, where taxes are being abolished alongside reduced access costs to stimulate traffic, tourism, jobs, and economic recovery", the company said.

Ryanair added that Germany is therefore one of the slowest-recovering air traffic markets in Europe, with traffic at just 88 percent of pre-pandemic levels. The airline announced it will shift capacity to countries offering more favorable conditions, but expressed willingness to return if the German government lowers taxes and fees.

Major Reductions in Spain

Significant cuts have also been announced in Spain. After removing one million seats from the winter 2025 schedule, the airline will reduce capacity by an additional 1.2 million seats in the summer 2026 timetable.

This includes suspending all flights to Asturias and Vigo, as well as closing its base in Santiago de Compostela. Flights to Santander and Zaragoza will be reduced, and connections to the Canary Islands will also be discontinued. The base in Jerez, closed this season, will not operate in 2026 either.

The reason lies in disputes with Spanish airport operator Aena over increased taxes and fees, as well as what Ryanair calls "illegal baggage fines" introduced by the Spanish government.

"Aena’s monopolistic pricing approach forces small, underutilized regional airports to charge similar prices as major hubs like Madrid, Barcelona, Palma, and Málaga. As a result, Ryanair is shifting capacity to those larger Spanish airports", the company said, adding that it is redirecting flights to lower-cost airports in Croatia, Morocco, Italy, Sweden, and Albania.

Cuts in France and Belgium

In France, Ryanair cut 750,000 seats and 25 routes in winter 2025 due to higher aviation taxes, suspending flights to Bergerac, Brive, and Strasbourg. Although flights to Bergerac will resume in summer 2026, routes to Brive and Strasbourg remain canceled.

Commercial Director Jason McGuinness warned that further cancellations are possible. As of March 27, Ryanair will suspend operations at Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne Airport due to environmental taxes; it currently flies to London, Porto, and Fez. The Dublin–Rodez route has also been canceled for 2026.

From the winter 2026/27 schedule, Ryanair has removed 20 routes and one million seats from Brussels and Charleroi. The main reason is Belgium’s new aviation tax, which will double to €10 per passenger. The decision affects destinations such as Milan, Barcelona, Lisbon, and Kraków, and reduces Ryanair’s capacity in Belgium by around 22 percent.

"If the government truly wants to revive the Belgian economy, it should abolish this harmful aviation tax to stimulate traffic and tourism, not double it", the company said.

Portugal and the Azores

From the end of March this year, Ryanair is canceling all six of its routes to and from the Azores, affecting around 400,000 passengers annually and reducing capacity in Portugal by approximately 22 percent. The decision follows higher air traffic control fees imposed by Portuguese operator ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, as well as EU taxes targeting short-haul flights.

"Unfortunately, ANA’s monopoly has no plan to grow low-cost connectivity with the Azores. The Portuguese government must intervene to ensure its airports are used for the benefit of the Portuguese people, not for the benefit of a French monopoly", Ryanair said. ANA rejected the allegations, stating that fees in the Azores are low and dialogue remains open.

Reductions in Bosnia, Serbia, and Lithuania

Flight reductions for summer 2026 have also been announced in Bosnia and Serbia, mainly due to reallocating resources to higher-demand areas such as Croatia.

In Banja Luka, the number of weekly flights will be reduced from six to two on routes to Vienna, Memmingen, and Baden-Baden.

In Niš, two weekly flights are being cut, one to Vienna and one to Malta. Ryanair is also canceling two routes between Ireland and Lithuania starting in April: Belfast–Kaunas and Dublin–Palanga, as well as flights from Vilnius to Stockholm.