On April 24, 2026, Ryanair announced that it is to close its base at Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport (BER), effective October 24, 2026. The Irish low-cost airline will relocate seven aircraft to its other bases throughout Europe, particularly those countries that have recently reduced taxes and charges for air operators, such as Sweden, Italy, Albania and Slovakia.
In a press conference held in the German capital, Ryanair’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Eddie Wilson and Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) Jason McGuiness blamed cost increases at Berlin-Brandenburg for this decision.
A 10% increase in airport fees at the German capital’s airport for the period 2027-29 appears to have been the last straw for the Irish carrier, which, in the press release announcing the Berlin closure, quantified the airport cost increases . The airline provided a list of different charge increases, showing how some of those levies have, in some cases, more than doubled since 2019.
Speaking to the media, the two top Ryanair executives were highly critical of Berlin-Brandenburg’s management, pointing out that traffic has dropped by 27% at the German capital’s gateway since 2019, with a number of other airlines, such as Lufthansa, easyJet and Norwegian, also reducing their capacity significantly.
The airline’s executives were critical of other aspects of the airport’s management, such as its night flight curfew, which they claimed limits the utilization rate of aircraft. While noting that some German airports had been cooperative, McGuiness and Wilson stated that these issues are being replicated across Germany. They also noted that this is the fourth base closure in Germany, a country in which Ryanair currently has 20 fewer aircraft than it did in 2019.
In the case of Berlin, which Wilson referred to as “the worst recovering [since the pandemic –ed .note] airport in Europe”, the base closure will represent the loss of ten routes and 50% of traffic for Ryanair, which will nevertheless continue to serve the airport from other European bases. Around 210 pilots and crew will be offered relocation to the airline’s other bases.
The two executives also warned that the closure may lead to further financial increases for those operators that remain, as the airport may have to cover its costs by charging them more. In this regard, they referred to Berlin airport as a “white elephant”, a reference to the facility’s protracted construction process which resulted in numerous delays and cost overruns.
In this regard, they noted that the airport is operating well below its theoretical capacity, comparing the current situation to that of a hotel which has plenty of empty rooms and decides to increase rates, rather than reduce them in order to try fill them.
Ryanair remains open to going back to Berlin, although, Wilson said, that would depend on the airport’s current management realizing the sort of competitive environment in which they are in.
