Expert revealed why Ryanair and Wizz Air will not expand at Budapest Airport: will the government act?
Michael O’Leary, the CEO of the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair, regularly slammed the Hungarian government for introducing the so-called excess profit tax (departure tax) in 2022 and promised to bring new flights to Budapest Airport provided the Orbán administration abolishes the new tax. The cabinet did so, but the network expansion is moderate. When will new Ryanair flights be introduced? Here is the answer of an expert.
Ryanair no longer slams the Hungarian government
According to Gábor Ács’s latest Forbes article, Irish budget airline Ryanair often requests fee reductions, promising developments and expansions in return. CEO Michael O’Leary continuously slammed the Hungarian government for introducing the so-called excess profit tax (departure tax) after the end of the COVID pandemic and even gifted Antonioni and Flynn’s “Economics For Dummies” to National Economy Minister Márton Nagy. The tax was abolished in 2025, but Ryanair has not announced many new flights yet.
However, the airline’s communication took a turn concerning Hungary. Ryanair cites Hungary as a positive example, a country that understood the need to remove obstacles to market growth by abolishing the extra tax. But where are the promised new routes?
Will Ryanair open 8 new routes from Budapest Airport?
Ács speculated months ago that, provided Ryanair closes 8 routes after the new tax’s introduction, in case of its abolishment, they will launch at least the same number of new flights, at least that’s what they promised then. However, the Irish budget airline announced only one new route, Katowice (read our relevant article HERE). Meanwhile, the other three mentioned (Liverpool, Toulouse, and Castellón) were either already operational since last autumn or had been previously announced to start this spring. Moreover, they announced the cancellation of their Billund (Denmark) flight, one of their oldest flights from Budapest, due to the local airport’s fee increase.
At a press conference, Ryanair told the media they feel supported by the Hungarian government, but the (state-owned) Budapest Airport began to raise its fees. Ryanair believes that it is like giving with one hand and taking with the other. They added that airport fees were already over EUR 20 per passenger, which they consider high by European standards. (Tickets are often cheaper than that price, meaning the airline pays more to the airport than it charges passengers.)
Budapest Airport must lower fees to increase traffic
Ryanair said that they were working on the next winter schedule, which is challenging without knowing the costs and airport fees for 2026. However, they promised expansions in Budapest, teased entering Debrecen and possibly Sármellék if the airport reduces its fees and provides predictability for the next few years. Ryanair has never operated in Debrecen (Wizz Air also minimised its presence there), and their last flight to Sármellék landed in 2008.
Ács said that provided Budapest Airport would not reduce its fees, it may lose its competitiveness, low-cost airlines would only carry out moderate expansions, and we might be grateful if they did not divert their capacities elsewhere after returning to Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Hungarian government plans to develop Budapest Airport: for example, they would like to build a new terminal, which will start this year.
Ryanair reacted after the article was published, saying that Vinci, the minority stakeholder (20%) and operator of the Budapest Airport, determines airport pricing. Consequently, they added that their criticism was directed at the French operator instead of the Hungarian government. Ryanair said they had similar disputes with Vinci in other airports.
Ács suggested that if the Hungarian government really would like to develop the airport and significantly increase passenger numbers, they have to reach an agreement concerning pricing. Currently, the two aims contradict each other: without price reduction, the low-cost airlines will not be able to increase their passenger traffic at Budapest Airport.
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Speaking of economics for dummies, lesson # 1: The bigger and the more interfering the government, the worse the economy. Always. Ever. Everywhere. Not one single exception.