The boss of the low-cost airline threatens to reduce its offer in France if this increase is maintained.
After Air France or Easyjet, it is Ryanair's turn to sharply criticize the government's will to triple the tax revenue solidarity on plane tickets (TSBA) in order to fill the state coffers. This increase would come into effect on January 1.
For example, for domestic flights and in Europe, the scale would increase from 2.63 to 9.50 euros in economy class. For flights beyond 5,500 km, the scale would increase from 7.51 to 40 euros.
In a press release, Ryanair (only concerned with medium-haul flights) explains that these increases “will put France at a disadvantage compared to other European countries, further harming connectivity, tourism, employment and economic growth in France, which have not managed to return to their pre-Covid levels.
And to recall that “other European countries such as Spain, Poland and Ireland do not have air taxes, while others such as Italy, Sweden and Hungary, abolish their air taxes to boost connectivity, traffic, employment and economic growth.”
Menace
This “risks further compromising France's air connectivity, as well as tourism, employment and economic growth of the country as a whole. The only guarantee this tax increase will provide will be the loss of foreign direct investment for the France for the benefit of other European countries which do not have air taxes (…) which have understood that this is the most effective way to stimulate investments”, adds Eddie Wilson, CEO of Ryanair.
Ryanair “calls on the French government to immediately cancel its proposed increase. France is now on par with Germany, a country whose air tax increases have already led Ryanair and other airlines to significantly reduce the German traffic for summer 2025.”
Remember that for its part, Easyjet believes that “the rapid and significant increase in taxes on plane tickets directly affects the purchasing power of consumers and, in the medium term, will especially deprive middle-class households of access to air travel”, we can read in a press release.
“The middle classes, SMEs or students will soon no longer have access to affordable short and medium-haul flights, but flying should not be reserved for an elite,” even judges Bertrand Godinot, director of Easyjet. for France.
Olivier Chicheportiche Journalist BFM Business
