The Irish low-cost airline Ryanair will, after all, withdraw 5 airplanes from Charleroi and cut 2 million seats for the 2026 winter and 2027 summer seasons in Belgium due to the federal government’s increase in the boarding tax.
By actually pulling planes out of service now, Ryanair is effectively sending the message that its threats are not empty words, even though this is also a routine winter capacity adjustment that just so happens to come at a convenient time to use as leverage against the tax.
Not an empty threat
Starting January 1, 2027, the boarding tax will increase from €5 to €7 for flights longer than 500 kilometers. Previously, there had been talk of an increase to €10, but that did not happen, precisely because Ryanair had exerted pressure by threatening to remove aircraft from Charleroi and cut seats in Belgium.
Despite the reduction in that boarding tax, Ryanair is now proceeding with scaling back its operations in Charleroi and Belgium – the airline also operates flights from Brussels Airport. Ryanair did not want a more moderate increase; it wanted the tax not to go up at all – or, preferably, to be abolished.
Shifting to more competitive economies
“We have repeatedly called on Prime Minister De Wever to abandon plans to raise the airline tax,” said Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson. “It is absurd that the federal government has decided to raise Belgium’s aviation tax starting in January 2027, especially now that competing EU countries, such as Sweden, Hungary, Slovakia, certain regions in Italy, and Albania, are eliminating their aviation taxes to stimulate traffic, tourism, and employment. We’re now cutting back in Belgium and shifting to more competitive economies,” Wilson said.
On VRT.NEWS, however, aviation economist Wouter Dewulf (University of Antwerp) offers a more nuanced view. According to him, Ryanair typically has between 11 and 18 aircraft at its Charleroi base, and in winter, it traditionally removes aircraft because traffic is lighter anyway or because the aircraft require maintenance.
In addition, Ryanair saw its profit fall by 34% to 593 million euros last quarter, due to higher fuel prices and the war in the Middle East, which points to a broader cost-cutting effort.
Diversify the airline portfolio
Walloon Minister-President Adrien Dolimont (MR), for his part, says that Ryanair’s announcement regarding the reduction in the number of aircraft at Charleroi Airport “demonstrates once again that the airport needs to diversify its airline portfolio,” referring to the fact that the airline accounts for more than 80% of the airport’s total traffic, which means they can quickly fall victim to Ryanair’s ultimatums.
“It’s their decision,” says Dolimont. “We’re familiar with Ryanair’s communication style, which is often aggressive, and I don’t intend to panic every time they make an announcement.
As an administrator and policy maker, you must strike the right balance. The Walloon government has negotiated a 30-million-euro tax cut for Charleroi Airport: 15 million euros in municipal taxes and the same amount in federal taxes. To say that we can go even further would be unrealistic given the overall context.”
Charleroi Airport, officially known as Brussels South Charleroi Airport, has been operated by the public limited company Brussels South Charleroi Airport on behalf of the Walloon Region since January 1992.
The largest shareholders of Brussels South Charleroi Airport S.A. are Sower and the holding company Sambrinvest, both of which are subsidiaries of the Walloon Region.
The Walloon government is currently considering changes to the airport’s ownership structure. Since last year, the Flemish government has been the largest shareholder in Brussels Airport.
