Ryanair once again reacts adversely to airport fees. It did so a few months ago when it announced its withdrawal from Billund Airport due to the Danish government’s passenger tax, abandoning one of its earliest routes at Alicante-Elche Airport, which Norwegian Airlines has recently resumed.
This event is followed by another that will leave the Alicante terminal without a connection to a city in one of the province’s major foreign markets. Maastricht is located on the border with Germany. The Dutch city will no longer have flights to Alicante starting in October.
The Irish airline confirmed this in a statement, citing higher costs and airport charges. Ryanair will implement this plan beginning October 26th, coinciding with the start of the low season. According to the airline, the rise has rendered Maastricht “one of the most expensive airports in Europe.”
The Irish airline operates alone on the route to Maastricht, with two frequencies on Wednesdays and Sundays. The Netherlands is one of the primary markets at Alicante-Elche airport, and connectivity will improve in the winter with airlines such as Transavia announcing more frequencies.
Meanwhile, Ryanair will discontinue this route, which was one of the first when it arrived at Alicante Airport. In a statement, the airline states that since 2021, when the government implemented this new tax, “it has increased by more than 275%, costing 30 euros per passenger.”
“As a result of these excessive charges, Ryanair has cancelled all direct flights to Maastricht from October, losing 150,000 seats and five connections,” the airline claims, warning that its policy now focuses on airports that are lowering rates, such as Sweden, Italy, or Poland.
“We are disappointed to announce this flight cancellation, which is due to an excessive increase in charges,” says Ryanair CCO Jason McGuinness. The CEO believes that these expenditures per passenger are “damaging connectivity, highlighting the failure of this airport’s post-COVID recovery, which is 50% behind the rest of Europe.”
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