Ryanair cancels 6 routes from Venice: excessive tax increase from city council

Ryanair cancels as many as six routes from Venice airport, reduces an additional six and even gives up an aircraft that had required an investment on $100 million. The cause? The excessive increase in passenger fees decided by the City of Venice as of May 30, 2023. To depart from Marco Polo Airport, in fact, since last June 30, each passenger is subject to a tax of 9 euros per passenger (increased by 38 percent, or 2.50 euros), and according to Ryanair this decision will stifle connectivity and growth and negatively impact Venetians.

Hence, the low-cost airline’s decision to reallocate capacity at Venice airport to competing cities in Spain and Portugal that, unlike the lagoon capital, instead offer lower access costs to spur recovery and growth in tourism, which is still undermined by the aftermath of Covid and inflation. In parallel, Ryanair is calling on the City of Venice to urgently stop this excessive tax increase to avoid further capacity cuts that the company says will negatively impact not only Venice Marco Polo Airport but also the city of Venice, where connectivity is the lifeblood of the local tourism industry.

“We regret the illogical decision by the City of Venice to increase the municipal surcharge by 38 percent from €6.50 to €9 per passenger as of May 30, forcing Ryanair to remove a based aircraft ($100 million investment) and cancel 6 routes from Venice Marco Polo Airport, including Alghero, Cologne, Bournemouth, Helsinki, Nuremberg and Fuerteventura for winter ’23. There is no justification for this excessive tax increase that makes Venice one of the most expensive and uncompetitive cities in Europe. The City of Venice should lower, not raise, access fees to help stimulate traffic and its fragile tourism industry, which is still recovering from the pandemic. We call on the Venice Municipality to immediately eliminate this unreasonable fee increase to make Venice competitive again for the benefit of the tourism industry and, ultimately, all residents.”

Image: Venice airport. Photo: Rui Sousa

Ryanair cancels 6 routes from Venice: excessive tax increase from city council

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