RYANAIR CALLS ON BELGIUM GOVT TO REVERSE FIVE-FOLD FEDERAL TAX INCREASE TO PREVENT LOSS OF OVER 2 MILLION SEATS, TOURISM AND JOBS FROM WALLONIA IN WINTER 2026 / SUMMER 2027

Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, today (Fri, 6 Feb) welcomed the sensible decision of the Walloon Govt to reject the regressive Charleroi pax tax, which would have resulted in the loss of low‑fare connectivity, local jobs, trade, and tourism for Belgium. Thanks to the action taken by the Walloon Govt, Ryanair will now operate its full Summer 2026 schedule at Charleroi, delivering 7.5 million low‑fare seats (+9% growth vs. S25) and preserving 112 direct connections that support tourism, jobs, and regional development in Wallonia.

Ryanair also supports the Walloon Govt’s position that the Belgium Govt’s proposal to increase the harmful federal aviation tax – which has increased fivefold since July 2025 – is discriminatory and will disproportionately damage the Walloon economy, undermining the very purpose of the tax. When will Prime Minister De Wever realise that taxing air traffic is not the way to grow tourism/jobs, it simply sends traffic to other lower cost, zero-tax, competitor destinations elsewhere in Europe, like Sweden, Slovakia, Hungary, Italy, or Albania, where Govts are abolishing aviation taxes to grow traffic, tourism and jobs.

Ryanair calls on Prime Minister De Wever to respect the autonomy of the Walloon Govt and allow it to have a say on its own tax matters, just as it did regarding the Charleroi pax tax. Otherwise, the Federal Govt will be responsible for the loss of over 2 million seats from October next at Charleroi Airport, with the loss of thousands of jobs.

Ryanair CEO, Eddie Wilson, said: 

“We welcome the Walloon Govt’s sensible decision to scrap the Charleroi pax tax – a regressive and ill‑judged measure that would have resulted in the loss of low‑fare connectivity, tourism, and jobs in Wallonia and across Belgium. Instead, Ryanair will not only maintain its full Summer 2026 schedule at Charleroi but grow traffic by +9%, supporting the local economy through the delivery of 7.5 million low‑fare seats across 112 routes.

However, this progress risks being wiped out by the Belgium Govt’s plan to further raise the harmful Federal Tax, which has already increased five-fold since last July. Prime Minister De Wever should listen to the Walloon Govt when they say that this discriminatory tax will disproportionately damage Wallonia’s economy, undermining its competitiveness while competing EU countries like Sweden, Slovakia, Hungary, Italy, and Albania are abolishing aviation taxes to grow.

Ryanair calls on Prime Minister De Wever to follow the lead of the Walloon Govt and scrap these silly tax increases, or he will be directly responsible for the loss of over 2 million seats from the Walloon Region (Charleroi Airport), along with thousands of local job losses, and the decimation of millions of euros in economic benefits for local communities.  These cuts, if the tax goes ahead, will take effect from October 2026.

Ryanair wants to grow in Belgium, but we cannot do so if the Federal Govt continues to price Wallonia out of the market with politically‑driven, anti‑consumer taxes.”

Ryanair today (6 Feb) welcomes yet another ruling from the Hamburg Courts in Germany, which has fined eDreams for breaching several court orders from January 2023.  This ruling follows mounting pressure on eDreams from Courts (and Regulators) which recently found that eDreams’ presentation of prices is “misleading”.  In this latest ruling, the Hamburg Court confirmed multiple violations on the eDreams‑controlled website Opodo.de, including “misleading” discount advertising and failing to display the airline’s real seat reservation prices

In its decision, the Court ruled that eDreams unlawfully advertised savings and discounts which consumers could not realise, and eDreams also concealed the true seat reservation prices charged by the airline.  eDreams continues breaching this court order, showing blatant disregard for the Court’s rulings, while the fines against it mount.

This ruling reinforces the growing body of German Court rulings confirming that eDreams continues to engage in “misleading” practices — behaviour that sets it apart from most other online travel agencies such as Booking.com, Lastminute, and Kiwi, all of whom have already adopted Ryanair’s price transparency standards.  This ruling also comes at the time when Italy has imposed a €9m fine on eDreams on foot of eDreams’ “clearly deceptive”, “unquestionably manipulative” and “misleading” practices.

For access to transparent airfares and ancillary services, all consumers should book directly on Ryanair.com or through one of our many approved OTA partners, where customers will always see the real Ryanair price for fares and ancillary services.

Ryanair’s Dara Brady said:

“This latest eDreams fine from the Hamburg Courts again highlights eDreams’ continuing disregard for consumers and the Courts of Europe.  eDreams’ continued breach is a blatant disregard of the court’s ruling, particularly where eDreams could easily comply with the law and desist from “misleading”, “clearly deceptive” and “unquestionably manipulative” overcharging of consumers by adopting the same Ryanair transparency standards as all their main OTA competitors do.”

Ryanair today (4 Feb) calls on consumer and competition regulators across the EU to take decisive action against eDream’s Prime scheme following today’s €9m fine in Italy.

While Italy has imposed a €9m fine on eDreams, Ryanair believes this sanction is too lenient.  It leaves Italian and EU consumers exposed to the same harmful practices, especially as eDreams continues to inflate airline fares and/or ancillary services with undisclosed intermediary fees.

The Italian investigation found that “Prime users access, in almost all cases, a higher Prime price than that shown to non‑subscribing users” and stated that “the actual extent of the discounts associated with the subscription was misrepresented, and price differences were not transparently disclosed, depending on whether consumers accessed eDreams directly or through metasearch engines, or on their Prime subscription status.”  Internal documents of eDreams even “comment on the suitability of reverse psychology to facilitate significant increases in subscriptions…”  The Italian investigation further said that there are “numerous reports… that [consumers] are unwittingly subscribed… without any warning… that the free trial period does not apply.”

This investigation confirms that eDreams’ approach to pricing is “clearly deceptive”, “unquestionably manipulative” and “misleading” – setting it apart from most other online travel agencies such as Booking.com, Lastminute, and Kiwi, all of whom have adopted Ryanair’s price transparency standards.  For access to fares that are not “misleading”, we encourage all customers to book directly on the Ryanair.com website, or through one of our approved OTA partners—where consumers always see the true, accurate Ryanair price.

Ryanair’s Dara Brady, said:

“Today’s Italian decision confirms what we’ve been saying for years: eDreams’ business model depends on “clearly deceptive”, “unquestionably manipulative” and “misleading” practices, while disguising its own intermediary fees inside inflated airline fares and ancillary services.  In Germany, the Hamburg Court has already ruled these displays are “misleading”, and now the Italian authority has independently documented these same abuses against consumers in Italy.  

Despite Ryanair’s repeated objections, eDreams continues to scrape our fares and ancillary services to overcharge consumers.  eDreams remains the only large OTA that refuses to adopt the transparency standards already adopted by Booking.com, Lastminute, Kiwi and others.  Ryanair has offered to provide eDreams with free, direct access to Ryanair’s inventory – if they wish to compete on a level playing field – but only if/when they adopt the same transparency standards as their main OTA competitors, and desist from “misleading” or overcharging consumers.”

Ryanair today (Wed, 4 Feb) released its Jan 2026 traffic stats as follows:

TEST ACHATS HAS STATUS DOWNGRADED BY BRUSSELS COURT

Ryanair today (3 Feb) welcomed the Brussels Enterprise Court’s ruling which fully confirms that Ryanair’s cabin baggage policy complies with EU law and the Court of Justice of the EU’s authoritative Vueling judgment.  The Court held that every Ryanair passenger is entitled to carry on board a free underseat bag of reasonable size and weight, capable of holding passengers’ personal effects and meeting all safety requirements.  The Court expressly rejected Test Achats’ claim that airlines must include a larger overhead‑locker bag in the basic fare.

In its judgment, the Court stated “It cannot be argued that RYANAIR does not comply with Article 23 of Regulation 1008/2008… This baggage meets the requirements of Regulation 1008/2008, as specified by the Court’s case law.”  The court continued: “Neither Article 23 nor the Vueling caselaw requires an air carrier to accept free carryon baggage of a size larger than that authorised by RYANAIR…” and added “TEST ACHATS’ argument that RYANAIR is legally obliged to include… free carriage of carryon baggage to be placed in the cabin luggage compartments is not upheld… This grievance lacks merit.”

This ruling brings Belgium into line with a long list of authoritative judgments across the EU that have upheld Ryanair’s cabin bag policy, including the CJEU’s Vueling decision, the Italian Council of State, the Berlin Regional Court, the Berlin Higher Regional Court, as well as the Barcelona, Valencia, Valladolid, Sevilla, and Madrid courts, just to mention a few. These courts have consistently confirmed that Ryanair’s free underseat bag satisfies Article 23 of Regulation 1008/2008 and that airlines are free to set prices for optional services such as larger cabin bags and checked baggage.

The Brussels Court also dismissed Test Achats’ claims concerning other Ryanair policies.  On Ryanair’s demand-based pricing, the Court found “This grievance lacks merit.” On seat choice, it held “It cannot be considered that the way in which RYANAIR operates is likely to significantly impair the consumer’s freedom of choice.”  On family seating, the Court concluded “It cannot be argued that RYANAIR’s practice is illegal.  This grievance lacks merit.”  With respect to Ryanair’s baggage presentation, the Court stated “This is not objectionable… This grievance lacks merit.”

Importantly, the Court recognised that Test Achats did not hold the required “qualified entity” status, meaning it can no longer rely on rights reserved for EU‑recognised qualified entities—such as presumed standing, participation in cross‑border representative actions, or access to court‑ordered publicity measures.

Ryanair’s Dara Brady said:

“We welcome this clear and comprehensive ruling confirming—once again and in line with EU and national courts across Italy, Germany, Spain, and the CJEU—that Ryanair’s cabin bag policy is fully compliant with EU law.  Our free underseat bag meets all legal and safety requirements, and customers continue to enjoy Europe’s lowest fares by choosing only the optional services they wish to purchase. We also note the Court’s finding that Test Achats was unlawfully granted ‘qualified entity’ status, significantly reducing its ability to bring abusive and unfounded actions of this kind.”

Ryanair, the UK’s No. 1 low-fares airline, today (Tues, 27 Jan) announced its Norwich Summer 2026 schedule with 3 routes to Alicante, Faro and Malta, including the addition of a third weekly flight to sunshine hotspot Faro (operating Mondays, Wednesday, & Saturdays), providing Ryanair customers in the East Anglia region with unbeatable low-fare choice.  

Ryanair’s full Summer 2026 schedule is available to book now via the Ryanair App, with flights to/from Norwich available from as little as £29.99.

Ryanair’s Director of Comms, Jade Kirwan, said:

“Ryanair is pleased to launch our Summer 2026 schedule for Norwich, offering 3 routes to Alicante, Faro and Malta. This Summer we will operate an extra, third weekly flight from Norwich to Faro, meaning that from 30 March, we’ll have flights Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays – perfect for planning both short and long-trips. This exciting new Norwich schedule offers Ryanair’s customers in the East Anglia region with unbeatable low-fare choice for their Summer 2026 getaways, with flights available to book now via the Ryanair app now from as little as £29.99.”

Managing Director of Norwich Airport, Richard Pace, said: 

“We’re delighted to see Ryanair’s continued growth at Norwich and passengers will warmly welcome this third weekly flight on the Faro route. This follows the recent extension of their Malta service through the winter, and year-round flights to Alicante, providing even more choice for travellers across the region.”

Ryanair, Europe’s No. 1 airline, today (Mon, 26 Jan) announced 140 new cabin crew jobs for its Stansted base, as part of its continued growth towards carrying 300M passengers by FY34, supported by strong demand for Ryanair’s low fares, extensive route network, and high-quality service.

To help find the perfect candidates for these exciting new cabin crew roles, Ryanair – in cooperation with its recruitment partners, Cabin Crew International – is hosting a cabin crew recruitment event in Stansted Airport on Wednesday (28 Jan) at Radisson Blu Hotel, at 10:30am. Attendees will learn about Ryanair, its operations, and what it means to be part of Europe’s leading airline.

This exciting recruitment event will offer attendees the opportunity to discuss what it’s like to work as cabin crew at Europe’s No.1 airline and hear about the benefits that come with the role, including excellent remuneration packages and discounted travel, giving crew the opportunity to travel across Ryanair’s industry leading network of over 235 destinations.

Further details and event registration are available at careers.ryanair.com.

Ryanair’s Jade Kirwan, said:

“We are delighted to announce 140 new cabin crew positions at our London Stansted base to support our Summer 2026 operations. Those interested in building a career with Europe’s largest and lowest fare airline – Ryanair – where hard work is rewarded with fast-track career opportunities and incredible benefits, like discounted travel, should come along to our recruitment event taking place 10:30am, Wednesday (28 Jan) at Radisson Blu Hotel, London Stansted Airport to meet some of the team and learn more about these exciting cabin crew roles.“