Air ticket tax: “France is against the tide”, Ryanair threatens to reduce its operations in France

After airports, the airlines are all wings outside against the Bayrou government’s plane ticket tax. Irish airline Ryanair plans to reduce its operations at French airports if France increases taxation on plane tickets as provided for in the 2025 budget, its boss Michael O’Leary warned on Wednesday.

“France is already a country with high taxation and, therefore, if it still increases already high taxes, we will probably reduce our capacity” at the start and to French airports, “said O’Leary during a Press conference in Lisbon.

The draft state budget provides for the increase in the tax tickets, which would drop from 2.63 euros to 7.30 euros for an economical class ticket to France or Europe.

800 to 850 million euros in the state?

Unveiled in the finance bill of the previous government, which discussed a billion euros in additional revenue, the system in its current form would rather bring 800 to 850 million euros to the State, according to a parliamentarian.

Like Ryanair, the French airline sector, companies and airports, has risen against the increase in its taxation for several months, warning against a loss of competitiveness and deleterious effects on the whole economy.

“Europe will not become more efficient or more competitive by excessively taxing air prices,” the head of the Irish company at low cost on Wednesday.