Ryanair to axe from flights from UK airports - 'affecting millions of passengers'

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary said five million passengers at UK airports could be affected after the discount airline announced a 'review' into its schedules following the Autumn Budget

Ryanair is planning to slash hundreds of flights from UK airports in a move that could affect five million passengers.

It comes after CEO Michael O'Leary said he would be scaling back the airline's operations in Britain following the Government's decision to increase the tax on air travel in the recent Autumn Budget. He claimed the budget had "damaged" the nation's growth prospects and "made air travel much more expensive". Air Passenger Duty (APD) for short-haul international flights will increase by £2 for economy tickets from April 1, 2026, with a much higher rate of 50% imposed on wealthy private jet owners.

But millionaire Mr O'Leary said Ryanair would now "review" its schedules, and claimed the planned reduction could lead to as many as five million fewer passengers at UK airports. Speaking on Friday, he also said the Government had "damaged tourism and damaged air travel to and from the UK". He went on to say: "Chancellor Rachel Reeves's idiotic decision to further raise the UK's already high air travel taxes will deliver cuts, not growth.

"This short-sighted tax grab will make air travel much more expensive for ordinary UK families going on holidays abroad and will make the UK a less competitive destination compared to Ireland, Sweden, Hungary and Italy where these Governments are abolishing travel taxes to stimulate traffic, tourism, and jobs growth in their economies."

Ryanair set a new record for passenger numbers in August, and said it carried 20.5 million people. But its profits dropped by 46% earlier in the year, as average fares fell by about 15% in the three months to June.

Announcing the rise in air passenger duty in the Budget, Rachel Reeves said the tax had not risen in line with inflation for several years, and that the "adjustment" would amount to only an £2 increase on short-haul economy flights. The Chancellor told the Commons on Wednesday: "Air passenger duty has not kept up with inflation in recent years so we are introducing an adjustment, meaning an increase of no more than £2 for an economy class short-haul flight."