Low-cost carrier Ryanair will slash 1.1 million passenger seats from its Brussels South Charleroi Airport schedule for summer 2026 – and another 1.1 million in 2027 – after federal and municipal authorities confirmed sharp increases in Belgian departure taxes. From April 2026 Charleroi will levy an extra €3 per departing passenger, and on 1 January 2027 the federal government will raise the national flight tax from €2 to €10.
Chief Executive Michael O’Leary called the levies “stupid taxes on connectivity” and threatened to redeploy aircraft to lower-cost markets such as Sweden, Hungary and Italy. Charleroi, where Ryanair accounts for more than 70 % of traffic, could lose up to 400 ground-handling and retail jobs.
![Ryanair to cut 1.1 million Charleroi seats after Belgian tax hikes]()
Routes to Spain, Italy and Eastern Europe – popular with SMEs and “visiting-friends-and-relatives” travellers – are expected to bear the brunt. OAG analysts forecast an 8–12 % rise in average fares on the affected city pairs once the cuts bite, with knock-on effects on travel budgets and duty-of-care routing decisions.
Corporate travel managers may need to redefine preferred airlines, adjust per-diems and build in longer journey times, especially if new routings involve non-Schengen layovers that trigger additional transit-visa checks. Some firms are already evaluating rail-air combinations via Paris or Amsterdam, or encouraging virtual meetings until the market stabilises.
Belgian officials argue that higher levies align the country with climate goals and neighbour states, but airlines counter that traffic will simply migrate to foreign airports, undermining both revenue and sustainability targets.
Chief Executive Michael O’Leary called the levies “stupid taxes on connectivity” and threatened to redeploy aircraft to lower-cost markets such as Sweden, Hungary and Italy. Charleroi, where Ryanair accounts for more than 70 % of traffic, could lose up to 400 ground-handling and retail jobs.
Routes to Spain, Italy and Eastern Europe – popular with SMEs and “visiting-friends-and-relatives” travellers – are expected to bear the brunt. OAG analysts forecast an 8–12 % rise in average fares on the affected city pairs once the cuts bite, with knock-on effects on travel budgets and duty-of-care routing decisions.
Corporate travel managers may need to redefine preferred airlines, adjust per-diems and build in longer journey times, especially if new routings involve non-Schengen layovers that trigger additional transit-visa checks. Some firms are already evaluating rail-air combinations via Paris or Amsterdam, or encouraging virtual meetings until the market stabilises.
Belgian officials argue that higher levies align the country with climate goals and neighbour states, but airlines counter that traffic will simply migrate to foreign airports, undermining both revenue and sustainability targets.
Source: VisaHQ – Global Mobility News
