Ryanair has published a list of New Year Resolutions for EU governments that wish to grow aviation, tourism, and jobs in 2025.
The airline said that “after three years of policy failure in Europe, where national governments have increased ATC [Air Traffic Control] fees, raised security fees protected high-cost monopoly airports, and increased aviation taxes, the Draghi Report calls for action to make aviation and air transport in Europe more efficient.”
Ryanair has published a simple manifesto for EU States wishing to grow traffic, tourism, and jobs, particularly in their regions in 2025 as follows:
- Axe Aviation Taxes: In the last two years Sweden, Hungary, Ireland, and some regions in Italy have abolished aviation taxes and have been rewarded with dramatic traffic and tourism growth. At the same time, the UK, France, and Germany, three failing economies, have raised aviation taxes and suffered traffic declines. It’s time to axe aviation taxes and place freedom of movement and low fare air travel at the heart of economic recovery in 2025.
- Reduce High ATC Fee: Since 2020 in the post-Covid period, ATC fees across Europe have risen by over twice the rate of inflation. At the same time, ATC services continue to underperform. Summer 2024 was the worst year on record for ATC delays and cancellations, primarily because EU ATC services are incapable of properly staffing the first wave of morning departures. It is time for European Govts to copy the US Govt and cut or abolish ATC fees, which is a service that should be provided by European Govts and not paid for by airlines and passengers.
- Fix ATC Delays
Two simple reforms will fix 90% of ATC delays across Europe. A) Ensure that ATC services are fully staffed for the first wave of morning departure, and B) Protect overflights during national ATC strikes. The European Commission under Ursula von der Leyen has promised efficiency and competitiveness, and there would be no more popular measure than fixing these ATC delays. Europe has wasted 20 years promising a single European sky without any progress. It should abandon the Single European Sky, deregulate Air Traffic Control and allow Europe’s ATC providers to compete with each other as the airlines do.
- Abolish Artificial Growth Constraints
Scrap traffic caps. The most egregious example of a traffic cap in Europe is the Dublin Airport 32m passenger cap which applies at an airport which has just opened a second runway taking its runway capacity to 60m passengers. The last Irish Govt, which suffered under the dead hand of a Green Minister for Transport, failed to scrap this idiotic traffic cap, which was imposed in 2007 – 17 years ago – over concerns about local road traffic congestion around Dublin Airport. Ryanair calls on the new incoming Irish Govt to abolish the Dublin Airport traffic cap as its first initiative, which would lead to growth in traffic, connectivity, tourism, and jobs on the island of Ireland.
Ryanair Group CEO, Michael O’Leary, said: “2025 must be the year of competitiveness and growth across Europe. Too many of Europe’s economies, such as France, Germany, and the UK, are stagnating under the dead hand of regulation, higher taxes and government mismanagement. It is time to return to deregulation and focus on those policies that deliver growth. Aviation is the one industry in Europe that can deliver immediate and sustainable growth in traffic, tourism, and jobs – particularly in the peripheral regions in Europe.
“The new Commission under Ursula von der Leyen should stop talking about growth and start delivering it. Fix Europe’s broken ATC system, abolish aviation taxes, and return to the principle of free movement of citizens around Europe and allow the low fare airlines to do the rest.
“Ryanair will take delivery of more than 350 new aircraft over the next decade, we plan to grow from 200 million to 300 million passengers per annum, and this growth must be facilitated by growth orientated policies from both the EU and national governments for the benefit of Europe’s citizens and Europe’s connectivity.”
