Ryanair to cut Berlin Airport flights by 50% and close base

Ryanair has announced it will cut the number of flights it operates from Berlin-Brandenburg Airport (BER) in half starting in October 2026. Ver.di has accused the company of “profit-oriented corporate strategy”.

Ryanair to cut BER Airport flights by 50%

Irish budget airline Ryanair has announced it will close its operating base at BER Airport and halve the number of flights it operates from the airport starting October 24, 2026. 

The seven Ryanair aircraft currently stationed at the airport in Berlin-Brandenburg will be relocated to airports in Sweden, Slovakia, Albania and Italy, among other countries. 

According to the company, Ryanair staff have been offered to transfer to new bases, and the change will reduce Berlin passenger numbers from 4,5 million to 2,2 million per year. It is yet unclear which routes will be cut.

Why is Ryanair cutting flights from Berlin?

Ryanair said the cuts were a “direct result” of BER’s recent decision to raise operating fees by 10 percent from 2027 to 2029. The airline said the airport had already increased fees by 50 percent since the coronavirus pandemic, despite the fact that traffic fell by 30 percent between 2019 and 2025.

Chief executive Eddie Wilson cited the German government’s “stupid aviation tax regime”, security fees, trebled ATC fees and airport fees for “leaving Berlin the most failing airport in Europe” and said Germany’s aviation policy had “failed its citizens”. 

Ryanair has long protested Germany’s aviation tax (Luftverkehrsabgabe) and Air Transportation Charges (ATC), which are high compared with other European countries. 

Introduced by the SPD-Greens-FDP government in 2024, the Luftverkehrsabgabe increased taxes on each passenger flying within Germany or to another EU country from 12,73 euros to 15,53 euros. For trips further afield, more than 6.000 kilometres, the tax per passenger increased from 58,06 euros to 70,83 euros. 

These extra costs were generally passed on to passengers, but Ryanair made multiple announcements that it would cut flights from German airports unless taxes were reduced. In November 2025, the CDU/CSU-SPD government said it would reduce the tax from July 2026 and freeze ATC rates.

Ryanair said the move was a “welcome first step”, but has called on the government to “fully abolish the aviation tax, halve excessive ATC and security charges”.

In his recent statement announcing the Berlin base closure, Wilson said Berlin and Germany had since made “no meaningful cost reform” and that Ryanair was left with “no alternative but to switch aircraft from Germany to other more competitive markets [...] while Germany and Berlin Airport continue to fail”. 

Ryanair was Europe’s most profitable airline in 2025. In the six months to the end of September 2025, the company’s profits rose by 42 percent to 2,54 billion euros. However, a 256 million euro fine from Italy's competition watchdog for "abusing its dominant position" saw final quarter profits drop by 83 percent compared to the previous year.

Ryanair accused of “profit-oriented corporate strategy”

Wilson’s announcement has prompted sharp criticism from ver.di, Germany’s second-largest trade union. Dennis Dacke, the head of ver.di’s federal aviation division, accused the budget airline of a “purely profit-oriented corporate strategy”. 

Dacke said Ryanair treated its employees like “disposable commodities” and accused the airline of “systematically interfering” with and “discrediting” the workers’ council (Betriebsrat), which represents Ryanair employees working at BER.

“Now is the time to find viable and fair solutions for the approximately 500 employees affected,” Dacke said. “Every effort must be made to avoid hardship and create new opportunities for our colleagues.”

The announcement comes as the airline industry grapples with uncertainty stemming from the Straight of Hormuz disruption and surging jet fuel prices. The price of jet fuel has nearly doubled since the conflict began in February, and many airlines are considering cutting summer flights to manage shortages.