Ryanair axes 20 routes, six aircraft, in Belgium in row over aviation taxes

On October 20, 2026, Ryanair announced a significant downsizing of its activity in Belgium during the forthcoming Winter 2026 season.

The Irish low-cost carrier is to axe 20 routes (accounting for 1.1 million seats throughout the season), removing six aircraft from its current Belgian bases to redeploy them elsewhere.

In particular, Ryanair is protesting about a hike in Belgium’s aviation tax, which will jump from €2 to €7 (US$2.25 to US$7.8 approximately) in January 2027.

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary highlighted that this measure represents a 250% increase in said tax. He called on the Belgian government, led by Prime Minister Bart De Wever, to scrap it – “before any further damage is done to Belgium’s collapsing air travel market”, in O’Leary’s own words.

O’Leary contrasted the stance of the Belgian government to that of countries such as Sweden, Slovakia, Hungary and Italy, all of which have recently either lowered airport fees and other aviation taxes or, in some cases, scrapped them altogether.

This decision will hit Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL) particularly hard. This airport, located some 60 km (37.5 miles) south of the Belgian capital, has long been Ryanair’s main base in Belgium, with around 19 aircraft permanently based there. The low-cost carrier markets Charleroi as an alternative gateway to Brussels.

No specific list of axed routes was provided by Ryanair in its press release, but according to Belgian digital publication Mobilithib, they will include winter services from Charleroi to Sarajevo (SJJ), Dubrovnik (DBV), Béziers (BZR), Genoa (GOA), Reggio Calabria (REG), Trapani (TPS), Essaouira (ESU), Nador (NDR), Oujda (OUD), Tetouan (TTU), Łódź (LCJ), Poznań (POZ), Warsaw-Modlin (WMI) and Newcastle (NCL).

Services from Brussels-Zaventem (BRU) to Madrid (MAD), Valencia (VLC), Málaga (AGP), Rome-Fiumicino (FCO), Marrakech (RAK), Porto (OPO) and Barcelona-El Prat (BCN) will also be cut during the upcoming winter season.

Brussels-Zaventem, the main airport serving the Belgian capital, was formerly Ryanair’s other major base within Belgium, but the airline closed it down in 2022 due to a similar disagreement over airport charges. However, Ryanair still serves the airport from its other European bases.

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