Ryanair to Cut 20 Belgian Routes and Withdraw Six Aircraft Over the Federal Aviation Tax Rise, Removing More Than 1.1 Million Seats
Brussels, Belgium — Ryanair has announced cuts to its Belgian operations in the winter 2026 schedule, withdrawing six aircraft, removing more than 1.1 million seats and discontinuing 20 routes, in response to an increase in Belgium's federal aviation tax. The changes affect Brussels Airport at Zaventem and Brussels South Charleroi Airport.
Belgium's aviation tax is due to change on January 1, 2027. Ryanair said the charge rises from €2 in January 2025 to €7, and its Charleroi base will shrink to 13 aircraft. Belga news agency reported that around 200 jobs would be affected, and at Zaventem, Dublin is expected to remain the airline's only route.
"Taxing air traffic does not deliver growth; it simply sends it elsewhere," Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary said in the airline's statement, citing Sweden, Slovakia, Hungary and Italy as countries where aviation taxes or airport charges have been reduced or removed. Routes set for removal from Zaventem include Barcelona, Madrid, Málaga, Marrakech, Porto, Rome Fiumicino and Valencia, while the Charleroi cuts cover Amman, Dubrovnik, Newcastle and Warsaw Modlin, among the 20 routes named in total.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 布鲁塞尔机场航站楼。图：Ad Meskens，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0。 / Brussels Airport terminal. Photo by Ad Meskens, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
