Ryanair is ending flights from Bergerac, Brive and Strasbourg airports this winter, citing a sharp rise in ticket taxes in March. Here we speak to industry experts to look at the wider impacts on French airports, and what it could mean for the year ahead.
The Dordogne chamber of commerce (CCI), which runs Bergerac airport, initially told French radio “if Ryanair leaves definitively we could be talking about the closure of the airport” – but has now told The Connexion it is confident the airline will resume flights next summer.
While an increase in the TSBA ‘solidarity tax’ on tickets was cited by Ryanair as the main reason, aviation experts say there are multiple factors and the situation could worsen.
It comes as British Airways has stepped in to lessen the impact of Ryanair's ending its London Stansted flights this winter. BA says it will run flights to London City Aiport, specficially for the Christmas and New Year holiday period, six times a week from September 18 to January 2.
However, air transport is set once again to be subject to some disruption this month, with air traffic controllers announcing plans for strikes on September 18 and 19, affecting domestic flights as well as, eg. flights to the UK, Spain and Italy.
Regional airports under pressure
The general delegate of French airports’ federation UAF, Nicolas Paulissen, said: “We do not know what Ryanair will do next summer but if the current trend continues, it will cause problems for all small regional airports.
“They are very dependent on low-cost carriers and in some Ryanair is the only airline.”
François Delétraz, president of passengers’ federation Fnaut, said there are no clear solutions when low-cost airlines leave.
“For example, if Ryanair stops flights from Carcassonne airport to London, people will just have to drive to Marseille instead.”
Both experts said Ryanair will not increase ticket prices to compensate for higher taxes as its model is based on low prices with tight margins of about 5-6% per seat sold.
“It will just axe lines and go where it gets the best deal,” Mr Delétraz said.
“For people who bought a French home because it was near an airport served by Ryanair, it is sadly just tough luck.”
In recent decades Ryanair has transformed UK access to areas such as the Dordogne, boosting tourism and property markets with cheap, direct flights.
But its demands for favourable airport contracts and local subsidies have attracted criticism and sanctions from the EU and French state auditors.
Not just French taxes to blame
Xavier Tytelman, president of industry consultants Aviation NXT, said the core issue is that French air traffic has not returned to pre-Covid levels, unlike many other parts of Europe.
“Taxes are part of the problem. There are other factors, such as high landing fees for the type of jets Ryanair flies, which discourage airlines from increasing services,” he said.
“Ryanair struggles to obtain new aircraft because Boeing is experiencing problems.” (editor's note: there is now some good news on this front, with Boeing announcing at the end of August the delivery of 25 new 737s to Ryanair 'before October', which had not been expected until the spring).
The Irish low-cost carrier, which called the TSBA rise on economy-class tickets “astronomical”, said the move is part of a wider 13% reduction in its French winter capacity.
This is equivalent to 750,000 seats across 25 routes, with cuts also affecting Marseille (-9%), Paris-Beauvais (-8%) and Toulouse (-4%).
It has threatened further cuts next summer, “to the benefit of more competitive markets”.
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary clarified that this would especially be the case if the government were to increase the tax still further in the 2026 budget.
If, on the other hand, the government completely removed “this awful tax”, the company could consider “ambitious growth in France”, the firm said.
Mr Paulissen said UAF lobbies against more increases and would rather see the tax reduced again or scrapped.
“We said this increase would cause problems and we were right,” he said.
However, he said due to France’s budgetary difficulties they expect no lowering in 2026, but they believe a new rise is now unlikely.
“That is what we understand following meetings at the prime minister’s office,” he said.
Dordogne flights impacted
At Bergerac, the suspension means loss of a winter service to London Stansted, affecting 18,000 passengers, or 7% of annual traffic.
Ryanair currently also flies to Liverpool, Edinburgh, Bournemouth, Bristol and East Midlands in summer.
Airport officials said the impact of the winter closure will be limited, as the runway is scheduled to close for resurfacing in January and February.
Despite his previous statement that Bergerac’s future could be at stake if summer flights did not resume, Dordogne CCI president Christophe Fauvel said “at the present moment, everything suggests that will not happen”.
He said: “We will fight to ensure Bergerac remains an essential bridge between our department and the UK.”
If Bergerac closed, the nearest airports are Bordeaux (1h30min by car), Limoges (2h10min) and Toulouse (2h30min).
Airline taxes elsewhere
Mr Paulissen said there are only about seven European countries that tax airline tickets.
Mr Delétraz added that the difference in taxation compared to most other “touristy” countries in the EU is “very significant”.
Among those with a similar tax, Germany levies €15.53 on European routes.
Italy applies €6.50 on domestic flights and €2.50 on EU routes from certain airports, with higher fees for long haul.
In the UK, Air Passenger Duty starts at £7-£8 (€9) on short-haul economy tickets, with long-haul and premium fares taxed much higher.
Mr Delétraz said passengers in France also pay towards the checking of bags and other security measures via a specific ticket tax, whereas in Spain and many other destinations the central state covers this.
He said this, plus the TSBA, makes French tickets around €20 dearer compared to nearby countries.
“Ryanair is a commercial company, not a public service to connect French regions.
"If it thinks it will get more passengers to go to Spain it will close flights in France to put planes on Spanish routes instead.”
Further complicating matters is a French ban on short-haul flights, introduced in 2023, on routes where a direct train takes less than two-and-a-half hours – flights between Paris Orly and Bordeaux, Nantes and Lyon are now banned.
Mr O’Leary’s criticisms also extend to airport fees.
Support for regional airports in France
Like many other regional airports Bergerac relies on local authority aid to cover core costs such as security and fire services, which are only partly funded by the central state.
Without public support passenger numbers are insufficient to cover operating costs.
One response is for airports to raise the fees charged to airlines for ground services.
However, when Bordeaux did this last year, Ryanair withdrew resulting in a 25% fall in passenger numbers.
Clermont-Ferrand airport, which is struggling to cover security costs, is in negotiations with the government, asking for €10million in aid.
While some cite environmental justifications for high tax on air travel, Mr Paulissen said if flights to France are axed, planes will just fly overhead to places such as Spain and Portugal, creating the same CO2.
Mr Tytelman said improvements in efficiency mean cross-Europe car trips can use more fuel than flights.
Could other airlines replace Ryanair?
Ryanair’s announcement about Bergerac raises the question of whether another carrier could fill the gap.
EasyJet, which flies from Bordeaux, said it has no plans to add new French routes but will maintain its current ones.
Spanish airline Volotea has been cited by Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot as a possible replacement.
Another Spanish low-cost, Vueling, has also been expanding into smaller airports.
However, UAF’s president Thomas Juin claimed “no other airlines will step in as long as costs remain so high”.
Mr Paulissen said: “We deplore the fact that the government says it wants France to be a major tourist destination while at the same time increasing taxation on air transport, even though air transport brings tourists to France.
“Studies show that people who arrive by plane stay longer and spend more.”
While France still attracts high tourist numbers, “the figures show tourists spend much more in Spain”, he said.
Mr Delétraz said Fnaut believes that the solution is for rules on ticket taxes to be set by the EU, so there is a level playing field, similar to how the EU sets uniform rules on how passengers are compensated for cancellations and delays.
The group is lobbying for this as part of a European passengers federation, he said.
Ryanair's Mr O'Leary has also been demanding more action at EU level, alleging that the bloc does not do enough to make European aviation more effective and competitive.
