Ryanair is cutting 20 routes and more than one million seats from its Belgian winter schedule, warning that air fares are expected to rise significantly in 2027 as higher fuel costs add to pressure on the airline industry.
The airline announced on Tuesday that its winter 2026 schedule would operate with six fewer aircraft across Brussels Charleroi and Brussels Zaventem airports, representing a claimed $600 million reduction in investment.
Ryanair attributed the cuts to Belgium’s planned aviation tax increase from €2 per ticket in January 2025 to €7 in January 2027, arguing that higher charges would make the country less competitive against European destinations with lower costs.
Chief executive Michael O’Leary also warned that passengers should expect substantially higher fares next year as the airline’s protection against rising fuel prices expires.
“We guarantee no fuel surcharges, but there is no doubt that air fares are going to rise significantly in 2027 because of much higher oil prices,” O’Leary said in an interview with Euronews.
Ryanair has locked in its fuel costs at about $67 per barrel for this year by agreeing prices in advance, but O’Leary expects the price to double next year as that protection runs out.
His warning comes amid rising oil prices linked to the war in the Middle East and concerns over supplies from the Persian Gulf.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, closed at $109.86 per barrel on Friday, its highest level since May, before subsequently climbing above $110, according to the report.
O’Leary argued that aviation taxes also push up costs and divert traffic to countries offering more competitive conditions.
“The Belgian government is doing exactly the opposite,” he said, criticising the planned tax increase and arguing that it would discourage investment, reduce passenger traffic and tourism, and cost jobs.
Ryanair said it had redirected six aircraft, more than one million seats and 20 routes away from Belgium for the winter 2026 schedule, warning that further losses could follow if the tax remained in place.
The airline also pointed to the European Union’s emissions trading system, arguing that it places additional costs on flights within the bloc while exempting non-EU flights.
O’Leary called for aviation taxes to be abolished in Belgium, saying that higher charges would shift passenger demand and tourism to lower-cost destinations elsewhere in Europe.
The Belgian tax increase was scaled back from an initial proposal to raise the charge to €10 per ticket, following pressure from the industry, but Ryanair said the revised rate remained too high.
The airline’s reductions come as other carriers have also adjusted their schedules, with Sweden’s SAS and easyJet having reduced flights this year.
Ryanair said the Belgian government should reconsider the tax before further damage was done to the country’s aviation market.