Ryanair (FR, Dublin International) has cut its capacity to Germany by 12% for summer 2025, comprising 22 routes and 1.8 million seats, citing as reason continued high aviation tax, security- and air traffic control fees.

The reduction will see Ryanair cut all flights to, and close its bases in, Dortmund, Dresden, and Leipzig/Halle. In addition, the Irish budget carrier said in a statement that it will trim its flight schedule to Hamburg Helmut Schmidt by 60%, to Berlin Brandenburg International by 20%, and to other destinations by 10%. The capacity cut to Berlin was already announced in August, on its own affecting six routes.

The airline said air traffic control fees in Germany have doubled since 2019, while a current cap on security fees will increase by 50% from January 2025. It called on Transport Minister Volker Wissing and the entire government to act immediately to reduce air access costs and repair what it termed "Germany's ailing air transport system", starting with abolishing the air traffic tax, reducing air traffic control fees and postponing the pending security fee hike to avoid further capacity cuts in the next summer.

"Germany has only recovered 82% of its pre-COVID-19 traffic levels, making it by far the worst-performing aviation market in Europe. Due to these high government taxes and fees (the highest in Europe) as well as Lufthansa's high-fare monopoly, German citizens and visitors now pay the highest airfares in Europe," commented CEO Eddie Wilson.

He said the German government has not responded to Ryanair's seven-year growth plan to double its traffic in Germany from 16 million to 34 million passengers. He charged that reluctance to support growth at German airports was shortsighted, especially as rising taxes and fees are pushing capacity to other European Union countries. He criticised Germany's approach compared to Sweden, Italy, Hungary, and Poland, which he said, are lowering air access costs to foster post-pandemic recovery and boost air traffic growth.

The Irish carrier already raised concerns in February 2024 about the German government's decision to increase the air transport tax by 24% from EUR12.48 euros (USD13.66) to EUR15.53 (USD17) from May 2024.

According to its website, Ryanair currently serves 14 destinations in Germany, also including Bremen Hans Koschnick, Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf Weeze, Frankfurt Hahn, Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, Memmingen, Münster/Osnabrück, Nuremberg, and Paderborn/Lippstadt.