Ryanair has announced it will cut two million seats from its schedule to Belgium, removing five aircraft from its base at Brussels South Charleroi Airport. The reductions will affect flights from Charleroi and Zaventem airports and will be applied to the winter 2026 and summer 2027 schedules.
The decision follows the Belgian Federal Government's plan to raise the country's aviation tax from €5 (about £4.20) to €7 (about £6) as of January 2027. Ryanair described this as a "250% increase since 2025" in a statement.
Previous cuts in Spain and Portugal
Brussels is not the first destination to see a cut in Ryanair seats this year. Earlier in 2026, the airline reduced services to Spain and Portugal, with smaller regional airports most affected. Valladolid and Jerez saw cuts, while routes to Asturias and Vigo were scrapped. A service to Tenerife North was also scrapped due to a dispute over airport fee hikes, leaving the airport with no direct UK routes. Ryanair closed its two-aircraft base at Santiago de Compostela, reducing capacity by over one million seats from the winter 2025 schedule and 1.2 million from summer 2026.
In Portugal, Ryanair cut six routes to and from the Azores, affecting around 400,000 passengers. The airline blamed growing airport charges set by Portuguese authorities and environmental taxes linked to the EU Emissions Trading System. John Paul II Ponta Delgada Airport now only has a single seasonal UK route from London Heathrow operated by British Airways.
Ryanair CEO statement
Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson said: “It’s absurd that the Federal Govt have decided to increase Belgium’s aviation tax by 250% from Jan ’27, especially when competing EU countries, like Sweden, Hungary, Slovakia, regional Italy, and Albania are abolishing aviation taxes to grow traffic, tourism and jobs. We warned Prime Minister De Wever that increasing Belgium’s aviation tax would result in traffic cuts, but he failed to listen. As a result, Ryanair will now remove 5 aircraft from our Charleroi base and 2m seats from our Brussels schedules (Charleroi and Zaventem) for Winter ’26/Summer ’27 and relocate to more competitive economies.”
