CALLS ON COMMISSION PRESIDENT VON DER LEYEN TO REFORM ATC AND IMPROVE EU COMPETITIVENESS OR QUIT

Ryanair, Europe’s No. 1 airline, today (Wed, 27 Aug) unveiled its Winter 2025 schedule with 119 routes, including 3 new routes from Charleroi to Katowice (Pol), Salerno (Ita) and Volos (Gre) and 11 routes to/from Zaventem. To facilitate these 3 new routes, Ryanair will further reduce its Zaventem traffic by 6% this Winter. Sadly, there will be zero Ryanair growth in Belgium this Winter, as Zaventem keeps raising its already high fees, and the Belgium Govt has stupidly raised Aviation Tax by 150% to €5.00 per pax, which makes Belgium tourism even more uncompetitive than other EU States.

Ryanair again, called for immediate action from Commission President Ursula “Von Derlayed-Again” to improve competitiveness, by bringing EU ETS costs into line with Corsia, and to implement urgent reform of Europe’s failing ATC service, by mandating that ANSPs must be fully staffed for the first wave of daily flight departures, and protecting overflights during national ATC strikes. Ryanair highlighted that in the month of July alone, more than 600 of its flights, accounting for over 100,000 Ryanair pax were cancelled, mainly due to 2 days of French ATC strikes (on 3&4 July) and the European Commission’s failure to protect overflights (and the single market) during national ATC strikes.

Ryanair also called out the Commission’s failure, over the last 12 months, to take any action on the Sept 2024 Draghi Report to promote European competitiveness. The Draghi report highlighted the significant inefficiencies (over €6bn in costs) of Europe’s ATC and aviation market, and yet 1 year later Ursula von der Leyen has done nothing to improve aviation competitiveness. It is time for action not platitudes from Ursula von der Leyen and her new Commission.

Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary said:

“As we come to the end of Summer 2025, we still see no action from Ursula “Von Derlayed-Again” and her new Commission, to reform European’s broken ATC system, or to promote competitiveness in the European aviation, as Mario Draghi called for in Sept 2024. 12 months later, there’s lots of speeches, lots of platitudes, but no action from Ursula “Von Derlayed-Again”. It is time for the new Commission to deliver real reform. In the areas of ATC, 2 simple reforms are necessary; (1) Ensure that national ATCs are fully staffed for the first wave of morning flights, or compel them to pay EU261 compensation to airlines and passengers, and (2) protect overflight during national ATC strikes, as Spain, Italy and Greece currently do.

When it comes to competitiveness in aviation, again we call on Ursula vdL to reduce Europe’s high environmental taxes on air travel, by bringing ETS into line with Corsia, which would ensure a level playing field between European Citizens (who presently pay all the ETS) and non-Europeans, who are exempt. This screwing of Europe’s Citizens, by exempting non-European visitors is indefensible, and must be urgently reformed. Bring ETS into line with Corsia and then at least all European and non-European passengers are paying the same rate of enviro taxes, and we will all be operating on a level playing field.”