RYANAIR has threatened to scrap flights from 10 airports in France from next year.
The airline’s commercial officer, Jason McGuinness, has revealed the airline is reviewing its French schedule in response to a proposed tax hike by the French government.
The French government is considering tripling taxes on airline tickets and private jets in a bid to plug a hole in its budget.
Low-cost airline Ryanair has responded to the proposed measure.
In a statement, McGuiness said: “Ryanair is now reviewing its French schedules and expects to cut capacity to/from regional French airports by up to 50 percent from January 2025 if the French government proceeds with its short-sighted plan to triple passenger taxes”.
The tax increase is expected to fall on passengers.
McGuinness added: “The impact of increased passenger taxes will be most damaging for regional France which depends on competitive access cost”.
Ryanair currently operates flights from 22 regional airports in France, including two near Paris, which aren’t thought to be impacted by the measure.
However, it is not yet known which airports will be affected, if the tax hike goes ahead.
Earlier this year, Ryanair pulled its services from Bordeaux Airport in a separate dispute over airport fees.
The news comes after Michael O’Leary, CEO of the budget airline, warned hundreds of UK flights could be scrapped following the recent Labour budget.
In the autumn budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced flights across the continent will now incur £15 of duty charges – increasing it by £2.
As a result of the rise in Air Passenger Duty (APD), holidaymakers planning on heading off to much-loved destinations could soon struggle to book Ryanair flights.
At the time, Ryanair boss Mr O’Leary said the airline would look to cut UK capacity by as much as 10 per cent next year.
This is the equivalent of a reduction of around five million passengers.
He said: “This week’s anti-growth air tax increase shows that Chancellor Rachel Reeves has no clue how to deliver growth in the UK economy.
“This short-sighted tax grab will make air travel much more expensive for ordinary UK families going on holidays abroad and will make the UK a less competitive destination compared to Ireland, Sweden, Hungary and Italy where these Govt’s are abolishing travel taxes to stimulate traffic, tourism, and jobs growth in their economies.
“Reeves has damaged the UK’s growth prospects and made air travel much more expensive for UK families travelling abroad on holidays or to visit friends and family.”
Ryanair has already cut its capacity in Germany in reaction to higher taxes.
Earlier this year, Ryanair launched its first-ever flights to Turkey.
Having previously operated routes to Turkey from Dublin and Bratislava, the airline will now operate from London Stansted.
