Ryanair to begin flying from major Paris airport
Two new UK routes also announced by easyJet and WizzAir
The flights will begin from April 1
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Ryanair has announced that it will start operating flights from Paris Orly airport from April 2025 onwards, with two routes already confirmed.
The low-cost carrier will open routes to Bratislava in Slovakia and Bergamo in Italy from the city’s second-largest airport, according to documents seen by French media Les Echos.
These new flight routes will not affect Ryanair routes out of Paris Beauvais, where the carrier has a major hub.
Further flights from Paris Orly, including routes to the UK and Ireland, may be announced in due course by Ryanair, with the airport offering over 8,000 new flight slots to airline companies.
New flight slots were also given to low-cost Spanish carrier Volotea, as well as Lot and WizzAir, with the latter offering flights to London Gatwick four times per week from the airport.
Operator easyJet will also offer a flight to Southampton from Paris Orly.
Only one new long-haul flight – to Montréal by low-cost carrier French bee – was announced.
Read more: New direct Paris-Montréal air route to launch in 2025
Airlines that are new to Paris Orly such as Volotea and Ryanair must use their flight slots for the routes requested, but those already using the airport can modify the routes they operate on these new slots.
Contrasting Ryanair positions
Ryanair’s acquisition of flight slots at Paris Orly comes less than two weeks after they threatened to pull out of ten regional airports in France.
The airline said that increased taxes for airline tickets (paid by airlines but usually passed onto customers) made routes to these destinations unsustainable.
Read more: Ryanair threatens to end flights to ten regional French airports over tax plan
The Senate voted in favour of the taxes at the end of last week, however in a heavily modified format.
Its version saw the tax per seat roughly halved, down to €5.30 from €9.50 for a European flight, as well as exempting flights to certain smaller regional airports in France from being subject to the tax.
However Budget minister Laurent Saint-Martin said that differentiated taxes based on destinations and specific routes are “contrary to European law,”
Read more: Plane tickets, gas boilers, bottled water: French Senate votes for tax increases
Whether the taxes will be implemented is dependent on whether the Senate’s version is placed in the final bill and if the budget can be passed any vote of no confidence in the government.
Read more: Why and when is the French prime minister at risk of losing his job?
