Ryanair closes its Berlin base and halves its winter schedule at BER
Ryanair has announced the closure of its operational base in Berlin from 24 October 2026 and a reduction of its winter schedule to Berlin Brandenburg Willy Brandt Airport by around 50 percent. The decision by the Irish low-cost carrier means that seven aircraft that were based in Berlin will be moved to other European airports, in countries that Ryanair describes as more cost-efficient. The company claims that the result will be a fall in its annual traffic in Berlin from around 4.5 million to approximately 2.2 million passengers, while flights to the German capital will in future be operated to a greater extent by aircraft based outside Berlin.
This move is not only an individual decision by one airline, but a signal of broader pressure on the German aviation market. Ryanair cites the rise in German taxes, security and navigation charges, and airport fees in Berlin as the main reason. According to the company, an additional problem is the announced increase in Berlin Brandenburg Airport charges for the period from 2027 to 2029. The management of Berlin airport, according to reports by German media, rejects Ryanair’s one-sided interpretation and points out that the level of charges is still being negotiated.
Costs have become the central issue of German air transport
Ryanair has for some time been putting pressure on German authorities and airports with the claim that Germany has become too expensive for the low-cost business model. Back in 2024, the company reduced capacity in Berlin by 20 percent, which included the loss of around 750,000 seats and the cancellation of several routes. In October 2025, it also announced broader cuts in Germany, stating that for the 2025 winter schedule it was reducing more than 800,000 seats and cancelling 24 routes at nine German airports, including Berlin, Hamburg and Memmingen. The announced closure of the Berlin base in 2026 is a continuation of the same dispute, but with far greater symbolic weight because it concerns the capital city and the third-largest airport in Germany.
Germany increased the tax on airline tickets from 1 May 2024. According to data from the German Federal Statistical Office, the lowest tax rate for most passengers was 15.53 euros per passenger after that date, while previously it had been 12.48 euros. The International Air Transport Association IATA stated at the time that the tax had increased by 19 percent and that, depending on the flight distance, it ranged from 15.53 to 70.83 euros per passenger. Ryanair claims that this tax, along with the rise in other charges, makes the recovery of German air traffic more difficult compared with other European countries.
Berlin between passenger growth and a weaker recovery after the pandemic
Berlin Brandenburg Airport recorded around 26.05 million passengers in 2025, or growth of 2.3 percent compared with the previous year. According to the airport’s official data, 193,042 take-offs and landings were carried out during 2025, and the average aircraft load factor was 82.2 percent. Ryanair remained the largest individual carrier at BER even after reducing traffic, with almost 4.7 million passengers in 2025, although it reduced its own offer at that airport by around ten percent due to, as the airport itself states in its traffic report, high location costs in Germany.
These data show why the Berlin situation is more complex than a simple story of falling demand. Demand for travel exists, airport traffic is growing, and BER has established itself as a key entry point for Berlin and the wider Brandenburg region. At the same time, growth is slower than the airport’s ambitions and than the recovery of part of the competing European markets. Ryanair claims that Berlin is not using its potential precisely because the cost structure reduces the interest of low-cost carriers in basing aircraft and opening new routes.
For Berlin, it is especially important that it does not have the same aviation profile as major European hub airports. The city relies to a considerable extent on direct point-to-point routes, city tourism, business travel and visits connected with the cultural and creative sector. When a low-cost carrier reduces based aircraft, the consequences are seen not only in the number of routes, but also in flight frequency, the possibility of travelling outside the most sought-after times and pressure on ticket prices.
What the closure of the base means, and what it does not mean
The closure of the base does not mean that Ryanair is completely leaving Berlin. According to available information, the company plans to continue flying to BER, but with a smaller winter schedule and without seven locally based aircraft. In practice, this means that some routes will be able to be maintained by aircraft departing from other bases, while capacity, flexibility and flight schedules will be weaker than when a larger number of aircraft are stationed at the airport itself.
For passengers, such a model may mean a smaller choice of times, the possible cancellation of more weakly filled routes and weaker price competition in individual markets. Low-cost carriers often enter routes with a large number of seats and aggressive prices, thereby also encouraging other carriers to adapt. When capacity is withdrawn, the market does not necessarily have to collapse, but the balance may change: the remaining carriers gain more room, and passengers have less choice, especially on secondary and seasonal routes.
The effect will depend on whether other companies fill the gap. In 2025, BER recorded expansion by individual carriers, including Condor and Eurowings, and the airport is trying to develop its network beyond the low-cost segment as well. But Ryanair had market weight in Berlin that is not easy to replace quickly. If the reduction is implemented on the announced scale, the loss of around half of that carrier’s winter programme could be felt most strongly on routes where Ryanair was the main or one of the few high-capacity providers.
The dispute over charges has become a political and industrial issue
In the German debate, Ryanair is not the only actor warning about high costs. The German Airports Association ADV, according to reports by German media, assessed the announced reduction of flights in Berlin as a warning for the entire German aviation sector. The association’s chief executive Ralph Beisel stated that the problem is not only Berlin, but the broader cost framework for air transport in Germany, including the air traffic tax, security charges, air traffic control charges and airport fees.
At the same time, from the perspective of airports, the situation is not simple. After the pandemic, airports have faced higher costs of labour, security, energy, infrastructure and financing. BER is an airport with a long and expensive construction history, and after opening in 2020 it must simultaneously maintain operational quality, service investment obligations and compete with other European airports. For that reason, the dispute between Ryanair and the airport management cannot be reduced only to the question of one fee, but to the question of who ultimately bears the cost of infrastructure and public charges: the carrier, the passenger, the airport or the state.
Ryanair, whose business model is built on high aircraft utilisation rates and very sensitive cost control, reacts to such changes faster and more sharply than traditional carriers. Aircraft can be moved to where the company expects a higher return, lower charges and more stimulating conditions. In the announcement of the closure of the Berlin base, the company stated that it would redirect aircraft to markets such as Sweden, Slovakia, Albania and Italy, which it claims have a more favourable tax or charge framework.
Workers, unions and the local economy face uncertainty
One of the more sensitive issues concerns employees. Ryanair has announced that it will offer Berlin pilots and cabin crew the possibility of relocation to other bases in the European network. Formally, this reduces the risk of immediate job losses, but for workers it may mean relocation, a change in family and living circumstances, or leaving the company if relocation is not acceptable. The Verdi union criticised Ryanair’s move as a strongly profit-driven strategy and warned about the treatment of employees who depend on decisions on relocating capacity between countries.
For the local economy, the effects will be measured more broadly than by the number of jobs at the base itself. Fewer flights may mean fewer passengers in hotels, restaurants, taxi and railway connections, less spending at the airport and weaker accessibility for business events, fairs, conferences and cultural events. In a large city, such effects are often distributed across several sectors and are not immediately visible, but a reduction in air connectivity has a long-term effect on the attractiveness of a destination and on the cost of arrival.
The German market under pressure from competition from other European countries
The European aviation market is formally unified, but the actual operating costs differ significantly from country to country. Airports, tax models, security charges and incentives for opening routes create very different conditions for carriers. Low-cost companies, including Ryanair, use this framework to relocate capacity to airports that offer lower costs or better commercial conditions. That is why the decision on Berlin fits into a broader pattern of European competition for aircraft, routes and passengers.
After the increase in the German tax in 2024, IATA warned that higher charges could slow traffic recovery, reduce competitiveness and negatively affect tourism and exports. Ryanair uses that argument in its own pressure on the German government, claiming that a reduction in taxes and charges would enable significantly higher traffic and additional investments. Such claims should also be viewed as part of a negotiating strategy: airlines often publicly emphasise the macroeconomic benefits of their presence in order to influence the decisions of authorities and airports.
On the other hand, public policies cannot be guided only by the wishes of individual carriers. Taxes and charges in air transport are connected with fiscal revenues, security standards, infrastructure costs and climate policy. The question is where the balance lies between flight availability, ticket prices, environmental goals and the financial sustainability of airports. Berlin has now become one of the most visible places where that balance is being tested in practice.
A possible opportunity for rail, but with clear limitations
The reduction in air capacity to Berlin again raises the question of the role of rail in European travel. Berlin has direct rail connections with a number of major European cities, including Amsterdam, Warsaw, Prague, Vienna, Paris and Stockholm, while some other destinations are accessible with one transfer. For short and medium distances, rail can take over part of the traffic, especially if journeys are time-competitive and affordable.
But rail cannot simply replace all cancelled or thinned-out flights. Some routes, especially those to more distant destinations, islands or markets with a strong tourist season, are difficult to replace by train. Ticket prices, reliability, capacity and the coordination of international rail connections remain additional problems. For that reason, Ryanair’s decision may open space for strengthening rail alternatives, but it does not remove the need for stable air connectivity for Berlin.
The consequences will be seen in prices, routes and negotiations
Ryanair’s announced decision should take effect at the end of October 2026, so there remains room for negotiations, political reactions and possible adjustments. If the announcement is fully implemented, Berlin will lose part of its low-cost capacity in the winter schedule, and the German market will get another example of a carrier withdrawing because of cost pressure. If charges or the tax framework change, Ryanair could try to present the decision as successful pressure on the authorities and the airport.
For passengers and the tourism sector, the key question will not only be whether Ryanair remains present in Berlin, but how many routes, seats and favourable times will be available after the base is closed. For German aviation policy, the BER case becomes a test of the ability to reconcile fiscal, infrastructure and climate goals with the need for large urban regions to remain well connected. Berlin will continue to remain an important European destination, but Ryanair’s decision shows that in today’s air transport, the status of a major city in itself no longer automatically turns into growth in the number of routes.
Sources:- Ryanair / Breaking Travel News – announcement of the closure of the Berlin base, relocation of seven aircraft and reduction of the winter schedule (link)- Berlin Brandenburg Airport – official traffic data for BER, including data for 2025 and monthly statistics (link)- Berlin Brandenburg Airport – traffic report for December 2025 with total annual passenger numbers and data on the largest carriers (link)- Destatis – data from the German Federal Statistical Office on aviation tax and rates per passenger in 2024 (link)- IATA – reaction of the International Air Transport Association to the increase in the German air traffic tax in 2024 (link)- The Guardian – report on the announcement of the base closure, the reaction of the Verdi union and possible consequences for traffic to Berlin (link)- WELT / dpa – report on the reaction of the German Airports Association ADV and FBB’s position on negotiations over charges (link)
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