LIrish low-cost airline Ryanair announced Tuesday at a press conference in Brussels that it will open nine new routes from Charleroi Airport (BSCA) this winter. Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary also announced that no new routes are planned from Zaventem due to “high airport costs”.
Ryanair’s new routes from Brussels South Charleroi Airport will connect Cork (Ireland), Dubrovnik (Croatia), Gothenburg (Sweden), Kaunas (Lithuania), Lamezia, Reggio Calabria, Trieste (Italy), Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina) and Tel Aviv (Israel) this winter. In view of the current tensions in the Middle East, this last connection will only be provided if the security situation allows it, it is specified.
At the same time, Michael O’Leary complained about airport costs deemed “high” at Brussels Airport and which make “Zaventem more expensive than most competing airports in Europe”. This increase means that Brussels Airport “will not benefit from any growth from Ryanair this winter”. The airline has already closed its base at Zaventem in 2023 and has since offered flights with aircraft based abroad.
The head of the Irish company finally denounced an increase in the cost of air traffic as well as an increase in delays linked to air traffic control in Europe. “It is totally unacceptable that thousands of European flights continue to be delayed or cancelled due to shortages of air traffic control staff and their mismanagement,” he declared, inviting the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen to take measures.
Also read
“Why is Charleroi airport the only one that does not have free parking for five to ten minutes?”
The Ryanair strongman added that he expects nearly ten million passengers on its flights to and from Belgium this year: 8.9 million to and from Charleroi and around 1.2 million to and from Zaventem.
Find all the latest news on lesoir.be.
Related News :