According to Ryanair, six aircraft will be pulled from its Belgian bases, leading to 20 cancelled routes and 1.1 million fewer seats over the winter season. The airline confirmed the cuts in a statement on Tuesday.
The move responds to the Belgian government’s plan to raise the national flight tax to €7 per passenger from January 2027. The tax was €2 in January 2025, so the increase is 250%. Ryanair argues the rise will make Belgium less competitive than other European countries.
The Irish low-cost airline regularly cuts flights when a European government raises aviation taxes, usually through route cancellations and aircraft withdrawals. It has already done so in Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, and Spain. Belgium is the latest country affected.
Ryanair says fewer flights will mean fewer passengers, less tourism, and the potential loss of hundreds of local jobs. It warns the consequences could be significant for Belgium’s tourism industry and the wider economy.
Ryanair did not immediately announce which routes were affected. However, according to reports seen by Brussels Times, eight routes will be cut from Brussels Airport in Zaventem, while 12 routes will be cut from Brussels South Charleroi Airport.
From Brussels Airport (Zaventem):
- Málaga, Spain
- Barcelona, Spain
- Rome Fiumicino, Italy
- Madrid, Spain
- Porto, Portugal
- Marrakech, Morocco
- Valencia, Spain
From Brussels South Charleroi Airport:
- Amman, Jordan
- Dubrovnik, Croatia
- Nîmes, France
- Genoa, Italy
- Katowice, Poland
- Lodz, Poland
- Newcastle, United Kingdom
- Asturias (Oviedo), Spain
- Poznań, Poland
- Reggio Calabria, Italy
- Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Trapani, Italy
- Warsaw-Modlin, Poland
