Ryanair has reduced its capacity in Germany for the current winter season and cancelled 24 routes following the government’s decision to maintain the country’s existing air passenger tax.
The current Mertz government had previously committed to reducing aviation sector taxes and had proposed reversing a 20 per cent increase in air passenger levies introduced by the prior administration. However, these adjustments are no longer included in the government’s 2026 budget plans.
The budget carrier on Wednesday (15 October) said it has cut more than 800,000 seats from its winter 2025 schedule as “a direct result of the Federal Government’s repeated failure to address Germany’s high access costs”.
The airline has cancelled 24 routes across nine German airports – including Berlin, Hamburg, and Memmingen – while flights from Dortmund, Dresden and Leipzig remain suspended after Ryanair ceased operations earlier this summer due to high airport fees and air traffic control charges.
The move comes after Ryanair in July announced similar capacity cuts in France following the French government's decision to increase its Airline Ticket Solidarity Tax. The carrier will also reduce its operations in Spain following a dispute with airport operator Aena over a planned fee hike.
Ryanair CMO Dara Brady, in a statement, said: “It is very disappointing that the newly elected German Government has already failed to deliver on their commitment to reduce the regressive aviation tax and sky-high access costs which are crippling Germany’s aviation sector... This completely avoidable loss of connectivity will bring our capacity below winter 2024 levels and will have a devastating impact on German connectivity, jobs and tourism.”
The carrier is calling on German transport minister Patrick Schnieder to take “urgent action” to reduce the country’s aviation fees, which Ryanair maintains are among the highest in the EU.
“Without an immediate intervention, Germany will continue to fall further behind more competitive European countries into summer 2026,” the carrier said.