Low-cost airlines are expected to make sweeping cuts to flights this year and next – and regional airports have all been warned by Ryanair that its French services are at risk.
Ryanair has already pulled out of one airport this year, and French airport bosses have spoken of their fears for an uncertain future.
Union des Aéroports Français (UAF) chiefs said in March that only 30% of airports are back to 2019 pre-Covid passenger levels. This is significantly less than in many other EU countries.
UAF general delegate Nicolas Paulissen told The Connexion that Ryanair’s sudden pull-out of Vatry, Marne, in March was “just the start”.
“We expect more damage in winter 2025-26 and even more in spring/summer 2026,” he said. Regional airports have all had letters from Ryanair telling them that, due to the rise in taxation, it would be very complicated to remain in France.
“And Ryanair usually acts on its threats, but I think there will have to be losses before the government reacts,” said Mr Paulissen.
“Once a company has gone from an airport, it is gone, especially as there is a lack of sufficient supply of new planes. They will deploy their planes elsewhere.”
The worst-affected airports include Toulouse (down 18.5%), Bordeaux (-14.4%) and Lille (-18%), linked to less domestic traffic and, at Bordeaux, Ryanair’s decision to close its base in October. That represented 25% of the airport’s passengers. Brest was down 24%, but up 15.8% on 2023 due to a new Volotea base, Rennes 39.9%, and Pau 55.7%.
UAF president Thomas Juin said there had been “distress and worry” when airport leaders met recently: “2024 was not, overall, a good year.”
He said there had been some dynamic areas, such as Marseille, but differences were growing between regions, with some slowing and with a worsening offer of flights.
Read more: Some regional French airports fare well despite wider downturn
Budget uncertainty since Covid
He said airports have faced significant cash-flow issues since 2020, partly linked to the state asking them to pay part of the costs of such services as safety and security.
“Some are in great difficulty, if not, for some small airports, close to insolvency,” Mr Juin said. Airports in Dordogne and Hyères, Var, in the south east were said to be "at risk".
France lags behind Spain, Italy, Portugal and Turkey
UAF’s 2024 data for French airports shows:
- Passenger numbers up 3.6% compared to 2023 but still down 4% compared to 2019;
- The number of flights up 0.6% compared to 2023 but down 10.3% on 2019;
- Planes are on the whole fuller, due to the major part played by low-cost firms, which focus on filling up planes due to low margins;
- Passenger numbers compared poorly to the EU average (up 1.8% on 2019) and in particular Spain, up 13%; Italy, 17%; Portugal, 17%, and Turkey, 23%.
“In general, we are doing worse than our neighbours, apart from Germany,” said UAF statistics expert Clare Henné. That also includes the UK (down 0.1%) and Ireland (up 7%).
When the former Barnier government planned to increase the TSBA ‘solidarity’ tax on plane tickets, Ryanair said it “expected to reduce capacity to and from French regional airports by up to 50%” if this was maintained.
The final 2025 budget, including a rise, albeit lower than first suggested, was passed only in February.
Ryanair said in March it would leave Vatry. EasyJet is ending Paris Orly flights to Bristol and Manchester flights from March 28, though it is starting Bordeaux-Edinburgh and London-Brest flights in June, and is closing its Toulouse base in April.
France raises taxes on airlines
It is unclear if the TSBA hike will continue into next year. Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot told Sud Radio he did not personally wish for it.
The ministry has not responded to a request to comment on the UAF’s concerns.
Mr Juin said the measures hitting the sector included the recent ban on domestic flights if a journey can be made by train in under two and a half hours.
“We were told that other countries in Europe would look at doing it too – but, so far, none has,” he said.
Long-distance transport infrastructure [affecting Paris, Nice, Lyon and Marseille]. Paris also faces a 20% increase in corporation tax [voted in the 2025 finance law for large companies].
“If they had deliberately set out to create difficulty for the air sector, it could not have looked any different. And, now, the coup de grâce: the tripling of the TSBA.”
For economy-class passengers going to a destination in Europe, including the UK, TSBA tripled in March from €2.63 to €7.40.
For medium-length flights, it rose from €7.51 to €15, and for long distance from €7.51 to €40. For business class, it is now, respectively, €30 (from €20.27), €80 (from €63.07) and €120 (from €63.07).
Steep new rates also apply on exclusive business jet flights, up to €2,100 per ticket.
Rises in the final 2025 budget were a compromise between the level proposed by the former government (€9.50 for economy class in Europe) and that originally voted by the Senate (doubling to €5.50).
Another tax on tickets that pays towards security has also been put up for small airports from €17.20 to €20.
'France is not seen as welcoming for airlines'
“We’ve not ceased to warn about the harmful consequences of these choices,” Mr Juin said.
“At trade fairs, where airports and airlines meet, France is no longer seen as welcoming. Airport directors are all expecting to see firms cutting flights in their forthcoming programmes.
“Yet the development of our airports, especially the regional ones – both large and small – is dependent on foreign firms, especially low-cost ones.”
He noted that on post-Covid recovery, France lags behind the EU average, whereas its size of economy and tourist appeal should make it a rival for Spain or Italy.
“Why is there this difference? If you look at their aviation tax policies, they are not comparable,” he said. “We are asking, above all, that the TSBA should not be continued into 2026 and that there is a reassuring vision for air transport.”
UAF is also asking councils to mobilise to avoid route closures.
“If foreign low-costs turn away from French airports, problems will multiply. By the time councillors are saying ‘what’s going on, I can’t travel anymore’, it will be too late.”
Some councils help fund local airports that run at a deficit, which is sometimes criticised, but this does not consider the whole picture, Mr Juin said.
“Take, for example, the airports in Dordogne that for years have benefited from the very interesting economic boost from British people coming.
If you take that away, they will save some costs but you also take away the income, the benefits for the restaurants and hotels and shops.”
These airports are among those “at risk”, Mr Juin said. Hyères, Var, was also cited among those likely to be in danger.
Mr Juin said: “Notably, in UK-France traffic, there is a risk. This is a very important client base for the areas. It’s a tradition. They’ve been coming for years and the plane is vital.
“Planes are sometimes based abroad, in the UK or Ireland, but there will be decisions by firms to orient flights towards countries further south.”
The government has said its TSBA policy is partly environmental.
However, Mr Juin said “planes are simply going to fly over our heads and land a few hundred kilometres away.
“On average, a low-cost airline has a margin of €6-7 per passenger. They make their money on volume.”
Airlines mull next move
Bertrand Godinot, managing director of easyJet in France, said: “We are extremely disappointed by the new increase in the level of tax after a lowering voted by the Senate.
The lack of consultation and any prior impact study have resulted in a biased measure, with double standards.
“It triples for European economy-class flights, while the increase is smaller for long haul flights. This goes against the polluter pays principle, as the further you fly and in a higher class, the less you are proportionally impacted.”
He added: “It is too early to draw conclusions about the impact on our schedules. We call on the government to start a genuine debate on transport financing and the taxation of the air sector, as well as a new debate on the TSBA for the 2026 finance bill.
“We also call for a freeze on rises until the conference on transport financing has been held.”
The conference is scheduled to be held in May.
