Ryanair leaves Maastricht in anger: 'One of the most expensive airports in Europe'

The airline has announced that it is cancelling all its flights to and from Maastricht Airport as of 26 October this year. This is because the airport has increased its rates, making it one of the most expensive in Europe, according to Ryanair.

Combined with the flight tax that has been introduced in recent years and has gradually increased, this is a major thorn in the company's side.

For every passenger departing from a Dutch airport, the airline must pay 29.40 euros in tax . This amount is of course passed on to the customer, but it does make for a more expensive flight ticket. Transfer passengers are exempt, but Ryanair does not really rely on them.

In 2021, the flight tax was less than 8 euros. The increase since then - intended to discourage flying - has 'irreparably damaged' Dutch accessibility, according to Ryanair. The company is therefore shifting course to countries where taxes are lower. Sweden, Italy and Poland are mentioned.

How happy they should be in these countries with the extra flights they can possibly welcome, remains to be seen. It concerns the flights to Alicante in the winter season. And then not per hour. Not per day. But per week.

Ryanair will finish the summer season in Maastricht, flying to five destinations , spread over eleven flights a week. These are Bari (Italy), Zadar (Croatia), Porto (Portugal) and the Spanish Alicante and Girona.

On an annual basis, Ryanair says that this amounts to 150,000 seats of capacity that can no longer be booked from Maastricht. For comparison: Ryanair expects to transport approximately 215 million passengers this year, the company reports in its most recent annual report .

Still, Ryanair's departure is a big disappointment for the airport. Ryanair was by far the largest customer, however modest. This summer, only Corendon is also flying from South Limburg. It concerns five flights per week to three holiday destinations in Bulgaria and Greece. For the winter season, the airport has no other companies at all.

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary has previously been furious with the Netherlands, as can be seen in the video below.