Ryanair’s latest announcement: they cut frequency on 7 Hungary routes!

We wrote that Hungary’s number one low-cost airline, Ryanair, gave a harsh reply on the departure tax introduced by the government. They announced that because of the “idiotic” new tax, they would close eight of their Hungary routes. However, the company will not stop there. They are to cut frequency in seven additional Hungary routes concerning flights to Czechia, Poland, the United Kingdom and several other countries from Budapest. Below you may read the details.

As we reported before, Ryanair cancelled flights to Bordeaux, Bournemouth, Cologne, Kaunas, Kraków, Lappeenranta, Riga, and Turin. Furthermore, the company’s boss, Michael O’Leary, made it clear that the era of EUR 10 flights was over.

The reason is the Hungarian government’s “excess profits” tax introduced after Orbán’s landslide victory in the 2022 parliamentary elections. The Irish ultra-low-cost airline called the so-called departure tax stupid and bizarre. That is because the company states the sector suffered significant losses during the COVID pandemic instead of gaining “excess profits”.

Due to the new tax, Ryanair announced that it will cancel eight routes and cut flights on seven further routes from its Budapest base this winter, the company announced in a statement.

• Read also: Ryanair receives gigantic fine in Hungary!

Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary said:

“We regret these route and flight cuts which are caused solely by the stupid and illogical decision of the Hungarian government to impose “excess profits” tax on the loss-making airline industry which now makes flying to/from Hungary more expensive and less competitive. Applying an “excess profits” tax to the loss-making airline sector in Hungary is inexplicable, and

only succeeds in raising flight costs to/from Hungary

when other Central European airports have lower costs and no idiotic “excess profits” tax either. These routes and flights will be switched to other lower-cost neighbouring countries like Slovakia, Austria, Croatia and Romania, none of which have any idiotic “excess profits” tax on loss-making airlines.

All Hungarian passengers affected by these W22/23 route closures and frequency cuts from November will receive e-mail notifications in the coming days, offering them full refunds or alternative flights to/from lower cost airports than Budapest for W22/23.“

• Read also: Wizz Air suspends lots of flights from September!

The seven routes of which they are going to cut frequency are the following:

• Amman (Jordan)
• Bristol (United Kingdom)
• Pisa (Italy)
• Prague (Czech Republic)
• Sofia (Bulgaria)
• Tel-Aviv (Israel)
• Warsaw (Poland)

Okosutas.hu wrote that the causal link between the government’s new tax and Ryanair’s latest decision is not so obvious. That is because the airline has cut frequency in other routes as well. For example, their Zagreb base will only operate at weekends during winter.

According to airportal.hu, Ryanair planned to operate flights on 53 routes from Budapest in the winter season starting from the end of October. The company cancelled eight of these.

Source: corporate.ryanair.com, DNH, okosutas.hu, airportal.hu