Ryanair to cut capacity at Berlin airport citing high access costs
Writes through; adds airport, ministry, eurowings statements in paragraphs 5-8; adds background on fees in last two paragraphs
By Klaus Lauer and Ilona Wissenbach
BERLIN, Aug 27 (Reuters) -Irish low-cost airline Ryanair RYA.I said on Tuesday it would cut 20% of its traffic at Berlin-Brandenburg airport, making good on threats to reduce its presence in the German capital due to some of the highest location charges in Europe.
The cuts, which will result in a loss of 750,000 seats from the start of the summer flight plan in April 2025, will see Ryanair's Berlin-based aircraft reduced to seven from nine, the airline said as it upgraded its summer air fare outlook.
Ryanair also said it will cut six routes serving Brussels, Krakow, Riga, Luxembourg, Kaunas in Lithuania and Chania on the Greek island of Crete.
The airline has repeatedly warned that it would switch capacity to other EU countries if Germany did not meet its demands to reverse an aviation tax increase and reduce air traffic control charges.
The airport, the only one serving Germany's capital, said it regretted Ryanair's decision but it understood the criticism.
"The state air traffic tax alone has more than doubled since 2019. The entire industry has been criticising this development for some time," a spokesperson for Berlin-Brandenburg airport said.
Germany's transport ministry declined to comment on individual company decisions, but said it was "examining measures to mitigate the significant increase in air traffic control charges for arrivals and departures".
In an emailed statement to Reuters, Lufthansa's LHAG.DE budget subsidiary Eurowings said it was reviewing a plan to increase its services at Berlin-Brandenburg in 2025, "taking into account competitive aspects, but also concerns about the enormous rise in location costs in Germany".
Germany has record-high location costs for use of its airports compared to other European Union countries, according to German aviation lobby BDL.
A typical medium-haul flight with an Airbus A320 costs around 4,400 euros ($4,909) in taxes and fees at Frankfurt, Stuttgart or Dusseldorf airports, according to data from the German Aerospace Centre.
By comparison, the charge at Ryanair's home base in Dublin is far lower at 244 euros.
($1 = 0.8963 euros)
Reporting by Klaus Lauer in Berlin and Ilona Wissenbach in Frankfurt; Writing by Miranda Murray; Editing by Rachel More and David Holmes
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