French airports among hardest hit by Ryanair winter cuts

It comes as Poland, Ireland, and Malta see increases over the season

A view of a Ryanair plane at Limoges airport
Denmark, Estonia, and Latvia also saw cuts to seat numbers
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Cuts in French routes by Ryanair this winter are among the airline's highest country reductions in Europe, according to a new report.

A reduction in services to several French airports including Brive and Strasbourg make up part of a 14.9% drop in seat capacity in the winter 2025/2026 schedule compared to winter 2024/2025. 

This drop is the second-highest among the low-cost carrier’s top 20 destinations, behind only Denmark (a 20.4% drop). 

In comparison, Malta (+22.3%), Poland (+18.2%) and the Republic of Ireland (+17.8%) all saw large increases. 

With the UK and Italy also seeing increases – albeit at a smaller level – France and Spain (a 3.2% drop) were the only major destinations to see seat numbers cut for the season.

However, France is still the eighth most-popular destination for Ryanair over the current winter period, with nearly 2.5 million seats on flights heading to the country over the season.

The data comes from aviation sector analysis website Air Service One, using data on flight schedules from Cirium. 

You can see the full data on the post below.

When contacted by The Connexion, Ryanair said changes to the winter schedule in 2025/2026 saw a “reduced capacity of 13% leading to the loss of 750,000 seats,” for France.

Summer 2026 schedule being released

Paris Beauvais was among the five European airports to see seat numbers decrease, with an estimated 147,000 fewer passenger slots (a 13% drop).

However, smaller airports such as Bergerac and Brive have seen Ryanair services axed over the season, with UK-France routes in particular being cut.

The airline previously claimed the changes were made due to increased airline taxes introduced in France earlier this year, making routes unviable.

Ryanair’s summer schedule is currently being released, with several previously running UK-France flights not yet added to the list.