Ryanair has revised its Brussels 2026 schedules by reducing the number of seats on offer at Charleroi by 1.1 million for 2026, with a further planned 1.1 million seat cuts in 2027.
The airline is undertaking the move in opposition to Charleroi City Council‘s plans for a €3 tax per passenger departing Charleroi from April 2026, and the Belgian Government’s plan for a five-fold increase in passenger taxes from €2 in January 2025 to €10 in January 2027.
Ryanair said: “These tax increases are silly when other EU countries including Sweden, Slovakia, Hungary, Italy and Albania, have abolished Aviation Taxes to grow traffic, tourism and jobs. Belgium’s tax rises will now send traffic and jobs to other, more competitive, EU countries.”
Ryanair has called on Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever to reverse “these silly tax rises”, which it said will damage Belgium’s competitiveness, and cost Belgium millions of passengers, thousands of flights, and thousands of jobs in tourism and support industries.
Ryanair said: “While almost every other EU country is abolishing Aviation Taxes, it makes no sense for Belgium to increase pax taxes 5-fold, when these taxes have failed in every other EU State. Ryanair, which is Belgium’s largest airline, carrying 11.6 million passengers to/from Belgium in 2025, will now cut this figure to (10.6m) in 2026 (if Charleroi Council goes ahead with its €3 tax plan) and will cut further to 9.6m passengers in 2027, if the Belgium Government doesn’t reverse this idiotic 5-fold increase in pax taxes. The competitiveness of European Aviation is already being damaged by Europe’s mad ETS tax scheme, which taxes only intra-EU flights, while exempting all non-EU flights, and Belgian citizens/visitors cannot be asked to pay even more of these unfair and damaging taxes.”
The airline added: “As many other European States have shown, taxing air travel loses traffic, routes and jobs. If the Belgium economy really wants to grow, then the Government needs to scrap these silly travel taxes, and allow low-fare airlines – led by Ryanair – to return to growth in Zaventem and in Charleroi, instead of cutting over 2m seats, which is what we now plan to do over the next 2 years.”
Ryanair’s Group Chief Executive, Michael O’Leary, said:
“Only the Belgium Govt could be so silly to raise Aviation Taxes five-fold, at a time when Sweden, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia and Albania are abolishing their Aviation Taxes. These taxes have failed, and have damaged air travel and tourism in many EU countries, which is why they are being scrapped. In Belgium however, the De Wever Government seems determined to fail, while others are succeeding. Having enjoyed Ryanair’s low fare growth at Charleroi and Zaventem Airport over the last 20 years, the Government has now decided to raise aviation taxes – by five-fold – at a time, when almost all other EU States are abolishing them.
“What these silly politicians don’t understand is that aircraft and passengers are mobile. If Belgium wants to tax passengers, then they simply switch to lower cost, non-tax, destinations, like Sweden, Italy, Hungary, Slovakia and Albania. Belgium’s loss will be to the gain of these lower cost, tax-cutting States.
“When the Draghi Report has called on Europe to become more competitive, the De Wever Government seems determined to make Belgium even less competitive. Raising taxes will deliver fewer flights, less passengers, less tourism, and cost thousands of jobs at both, Zaventem and Charleroi Airports. The solution to this challenge is easy: Scrap these damaging aviation taxes, as many other EU States have, and allow Ryanair to continue to grow, especially at Charleroi, where over the last 20 years, Ryanair has grown to be Belgium’s largest airline.
“This growth can easily be lost to tax abolishing countries like Sweden, Hungary, Slovakia and Italy, and if Charleroi and Belgium don’t reverse these taxes, then Ryanair will cut 1.1 million passengers in 2026 and another 1.1 million in 2027, and we will keep cutting until Belgium’s silly Government works out that taxing traffic is not the way to grow tourism and jobs, it simply sends them to other lower cost, zero-tax, competitor destinations elsewhere in Europe.”
