Ryanair has announced the closure of its Thessaloniki base in Greece and reduced capacity at Athens Airport over the coming winter, with 700,000 seats and 12 holiday routes axed
Ryanair is shutting down another European base with 12 routes axed. Over the weekend, the budget carrier revealed the closure of its three-aircraft Thessaloniki base and cuts to capacity at Athens Airport for the upcoming winter period.
The airline says 700,000 seats and 12 routes will be eliminated as a consequence. “This devastating loss in off-peak winter connectivity is the direct result of the hopelessly uncompetitive costs charged at the German-run Fraport Greece monopoly and Athens Airport,” the Irish carrier declared.
The decision marks the latest bid to pressure governments and airports into slashing Ryanair’s tax burden. Ryanair has also pulled its aircraft from Chania and Heraklion. While Ryanair hasn’t explicitly stated this, its announcement hints that the base and routes might resume operations after the 2026/27 winter season concludes.
“The Greek government made the wise decision to reduce the Airport Development Fee (ADF) by 75% (from €12 to €3 per passenger) from November 2024, which should have directly stimulated year-round connectivity and tourism across Greece.
“However, most Greek airports, particularly those run by Fraport Greece, refused to pass the tax cut onto passengers and instead have pocketed the tax cut for themselves. Since then, Fraport Greece have continued to increase charges, which are now +66% above their pre-Covid levels. Likewise, Athens Airport will hike charges this Winter,” Ryanair’s statement continued.
“Consequently, Greek airports are no longer competitive in the off-peak shoulder and Winter months, when the tourism industry’s reliance on low-fare connectivity is most acute. Ryanair has therefore been left with no choice but to reallocate capacity to more competitive countries like Albania, regional Italy, and Sweden, where airports have passed on the savings from Govt. tax reductions.”
Fraport, which runs 14 airports in Greece alongside other significant European transport hubs including Frankfurt, has responded forcefully to the announcement. In a statement, it argued that Ryanair’s decision is “exclusively related” to the airline’s commercial strategy and profit-making considerations.
“Any claims linking this decision to airport charges or the airport development fee imposed by the Greek state are entirely unfounded,” it adds. Fraport Greece has invested over €100 million (£86 million) in upgrading Thessaloniki, according to the statement.
Ryanair has issued a warning that it may scale back its ambitious plans for Greece, which had included the launch of 50 new routes over the next five years.
“However, this growth can only be delivered if airport charges are frozen and the 75% Airport Development Fee reduction is passed on to passengers at all airports. Regrettably, Greece will continue to miss out on investment opportunities, tourism, and traffic development until Fraport Greece and Athens abandon their shameless practice of pocketing this tax cut,” continued the Ryanair statement.
Last month, Ryanair urged the Austrian Government to scrap its €12 aviation tax by May 1 due to fears that it could result in a “decline in airlines, routes, and traffic serving Austrian airports”. The airline pointed out that the €12 tax has made “Austria uncompetitive”, as countries such as Albania, Italy, and Slovakia have chosen to abolish aviation taxes, lower ATC fees, and implement growth incentive schemes to help reduce airport costs for airlines.
While Ryanair’s executives might despise the levy, the aviation sector has historically enjoyed extremely favourable tax treatment. Even today, jet fuel remains exempt from fuel duty, with no VAT charges applied either. This stands in stark contrast to alternative forms of transport. For motorists across the UK, petrol faces a duty of 52.95 pence per litre, plus 20% VAT on top.
“Aviation’s exemption from fuel duty and VAT appears more like an indirect subsidy that allows airfares to be kept artificially low. The absence of tax has helped to fuel passenger growth and the sector’s CO2 emissions have increased 125% since 1990. Over the same period, the UK’s overall emissions decreased by 43%,” writes the Aviation Environment Federation.
Meanwhile, Ryanair has announced it’s closing its Berlin operating base and slashing its winter timetable to the German capital by half, citing soaring aviation taxes in the country. The Irish budget airline revealed that moving seven aircraft to alternative hubs would slash its Berlin passenger numbers from 4.5 million to 2.2 million annually.
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