Accused of being “hopelessly inefficient”, Berlin base will be closed by Ryanair next October. This will translate into a massive reduction of flights as the Irish low-cost carrier will transfer its 7 Berlin aircraft to other bases across Europe which offer lower or no aviation taxes such as in Sweden, Slovakia, Albania or Italy.

Europe’s largest low cost airline announced on April 24 to close its Berlin base on 24 Oct ’26. Ryanair will consequently reduce the number of flights it operates to/from Berlin by 50% in its winter schedule. The airline explained that the decision is a direct result of Berlin Airport’s recent notice to raise again fees by another 10% from 2027 to 2029 although the airport already increased its high airport fees by 50% since Covid.

For Ryanair, German aviation policy has failed its citizens as it relies on high aviation taxes and excessive airport costs to combat hopeless inefficiency, evidenced by the fact that since 2019:

Germany’s harmful aviation tax has more than doubled from €7.30 to €15.50 per passenger.
German security fees have doubled from €10 in 2024 to €20 per pax by Jan 2028.
German ATC fees have trebled from €1 to €3.30 per passenger.
Airport fees have sky-rocketed – especially at Berlin where published airport charges have increased by 50% since Covid, with a further 10% increase due by 2029.

Ryanair’s presence has considerably diminished in Berlin since 2022

Ryanair’s story of disappointment and hatred towards Berlin is not new. Back to winter 2022, terminated flights to 19 routes. In August 2024, the carrier further reduced its presence by 20%, taking away 2 aircraft and cancelling 6 destinations. In summer 2025, it cut again its network from Berlin by 6 other destinations.

Ryanair explains that “thanks to Berlin Airport’s unjustified and excessive fee increases of 50% since 2019, its air traffic has collapsed by almost 30% from 36m pax in 2019 to just 26m in 2025, leaving Berlin the most failing airport in Europe. Instead of introducing lower cost traffic recovery incentives for airlines to recover this traffic collapse, Berlin Airport has decided to further increase its already high prices by another 10% making Berlin hopelessly noncompetitive versus other European airports who are cutting fees to grow, and where governments are abolishing travel taxes.”

Ryanair DAC CEO Eddie Wilson said: “We regret to announce this planned closure of our 7 aircraft Berlin base from 24 Oct 2026, but we have no alternative following the Airport’s latest 10% fee increase to its already high airport fees. Despite Berlin Airport losing 30% of its pre-Covid traffic, they have now decided to increase charges by a further 10% which will result in the loss of more than 2 million Ryanair seats per year and 7 based aircraft. Ryanair will still serve Berlin but with aircraft based outside Germany. Our Berlin traffic will fall by 50% from 4.5 million to 2.2 million passengers in 2027.”

Incomprehension by BER Airport management…

Berlin Airport CEO Aletta von Massenbach reacted and declared in a written statement on Friday: “We are surprised by Ryanair’s announcement. We are currently in negotiations with the airlines. Such an increase in airport charges is not planned.”

She added that the move also reflects the exceptionally high government-imposed location costs, taxes, and fees that affect all German airports. “BER is particularly impacted because it has a high share of point-to-point traffic (direct flights), and those airlines are especially sensitive to costs,” she further explained.

Von Massenbach however declined to comment further on the ongoing negotiations with Ryanair.

… But understanding from the Association of German Airports

However, commenting on Ryanair’s decision, Ralph Beisel, Managing Director of the ADV (Association of German Airports), explained : “Following Ryanair’s announcement, attention is focused on BER, but this is not really a decision against Berlin: it is a decision against Germany as an aviation market overall. The significant reduction in services at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) clearly illustrates the pressure airlines are facing in Germany and highlights the structural competitive disadvantages.”

“A look at the numbers makes it very clear where the real problem lies: not with airport charges, but with overall location costs in Germany. This becomes evident both in specific route comparisons and in general cost comparisons between locations. For example, a flight from Berlin to Palma costs airlines around €7,600, whereas from Warsaw it is only about €4,400. A flight to New York costs around €25,300 from a German airport, compared to approximately €13,900 from a comparable European location,” he added.

This significant cost gap underscores the structural disadvantage of German airports in international competition.

Current traffic figures across Europe reinforce this finding: while many neighboring countries are seeing strong passenger growth—Poland up 122%, Luxembourg up 100%, and the Czech Republic up 51% over the ten-year period from 2015 to 2025—Germany has remained nearly stagnant at just +1.7%. Air traffic is growing across Europe, but increasingly bypassing Germany.

“The result is a gradual erosion of available routes and, consequently, the economic performance of airport locations. Excessive taxes and fees are preventing German airports from participating in the dynamic growth of European air traffic,” Beisel said.

Meanwhile, Beisel defended -partially- Berlin airport management against Ryanair’s critics. “The debate around allegedly rising airport charges misses the point. Airport fees themselves are in the lower European average and represent only a relatively small share of an airline’s total costs. They also follow the user-pays principle: those who use the infrastructure contribute to its financing,” Beisel explained.

” Ryanair’s decision is unfortunately not an isolated case, but a reflection of a structural problem. Without meaningful relief from government taxes and charges—particularly the abolition of the air transport tax—further capacity cuts will become the norm. Germany risks not only losing its position in international aviation, but being structurally left behind,” Beisel warned.

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