Ryanair freezes growth in Belgium for winter 2025, blaming rising taxes and high airport fees – Calls for EU aviation reform

Ryanair has frozen growth in Belgium for Winter 2025, blaming higher airport fees at Zaventem and a 150% hike in Belgium’s aviation tax. The airline will operate 119 routes, adding three new services from Charleroi but cutting Zaventem traffic by 6%. CEO Michael O’Leary blasted EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for failing to reform Europe’s “broken” air traffic control system and to act on the Draghi Report on competitiveness. He called for mandatory ATC staffing, protection of overflights during strikes, and alignment of EU environmental taxes with global rules, warning that without reform, Europe’s aviation sector will remain costly and uncompetitive.

Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline, has announced its Winter 2025 schedule from Brussels, featuring 119 routes, including three new services from Brussels South Charleroi to Katowice (Poland), Salerno (Italy), and Volos (Greece). At Brussels Airport, the carrier will maintain 11 routes but reduce traffic there by 6% in order to accommodate the new Charleroi services.

Despite the new routes, Ryanair confirmed there will be zero overall growth in Belgium this winter, citing two main reasons:

1. Rising airport fees at Zaventem, which Ryanair says are already among the highest in Europe.
2. The Belgian government’s 150% hike in aviation tax, increasing passenger charges from €2 to €5 per traveller. Ryanair warned that this measure further undermines Belgium’s competitiveness as a tourism and business destination compared to other EU states.

Criticism of the European Commission and ATC Failures

Alongside its schedule announcement, Ryanair renewed its sharp criticism of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen—mockingly referred to as “Von Derlayed-Again”—for what it sees as a lack of leadership in tackling structural problems in EU aviation.

The airline’s key complaints focus on:

1. Air Traffic Control (ATC) Disruptions – Ryanair highlighted that over 600 flights (impacting more than 100,000 passengers) were cancelled in July 2025 due to French ATC strikes on 3–4 July. The airline accuses the Commission of failing to protect “overflights” (planes merely crossing a country’s airspace) during such strikes, a measure already in place in Spain, Italy, and Greece.

2. EU Competitiveness – Ryanair condemned the Commission’s inaction following the Draghi Report (Sept 2024), which identified over €6 billion in annual inefficiencies in Europe’s ATC and aviation systems. One year later, Ryanair says, no concrete reforms have been implemented.

Michael O’Leary’s Demands

CEO Michael O’Leary called for “real reform, not speeches and platitudes”, listing two immediate ATC measures:

• Mandatory staffing of national ATCs for early-morning departures, or financial penalties under EU261 compensation rules.

• Protection of overflights during ATC strikes, to prevent entire days of chaos from localised industrial action.

On taxation, O’Leary urged the Commission to align the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) with the global Corsia scheme, arguing that the current EU-only system unfairly burdens European passengers while exempting non-European travellers. He described this disparity as “indefensible” and called for a level playing field in environmental taxation.

Overall Message

Ryanair’s Winter 2025 announcement was less about growth and more of a political broadside:

• In Belgium, the airline is halting expansion due to rising costs.
• At the EU level, it is pressuring the Commission to act on ATC reform and competitive neutrality in aviation taxation.
• The underlying warning: without reforms, Europe risks higher costs, continued disruption, and declining competitiveness in global aviation.