Ryanair Urges Chancellor Merz: Scrap Germany’s Aviation Tax Entirely from January 2026

Germany

Airline welcomes the planned reduction from €15 to €12 per ticket but calls for a full abolition at the start of the year, not a partial cut in July

Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline, has welcomed Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s decision to reduce Germany’s aviation tax from €15 to €12 per passenger effective 1 July 2026. However, the airline argues that the measure falls short. Ryanair calls on the German government to follow the example of several European countries and abolish the levy altogether — and to bring any tax change forward to 1 January 2026, rather than introducing it in the middle of the peak summer season.

A call for full abolition

According to Ryanair, Germany should align with other European countries that have already removed their aviation taxes, including Sweden, Hungary, Slovakia and various regions in Italy. While a €3 reduction is a movement in the right direction, the airline stresses that a mid-summer adjustment has little practical impact.

Ryanair maintains that eliminating the tax entirely would better support recovery, competitiveness and tourism, especially given Germany’s slow rebound in air travel since the pandemic.

Germany lagging behind in post-Covid recovery

Ryanair highlights that Germany remains the least recovered air travel market in Europe. Passenger volumes are at just 83% of pre-Covid levels, compared with major EU markets such as Italy and Spain, which have reached around 120% of their 2019 traffic — developments Ryanair attributes in part to favourable regulatory environments.

Since the pandemic, Germany has imposed substantial increases in air traffic control charges, airport fees and environmental levies, which have contributed to declines in air travel, tourism and economic growth.

Statement from Michael O’Leary

“We welcome Chancellor Merz’s decision to reduce the German aviation tax from €15 to €12 per passenger, but we regret that he did not go further by abolishing this dumb and damaging tax entirely from January 2026, rather than merely reducing it from July 2026.

Germany is the least recovered air travel market in Europe since Covid. Air traffic in Germany remains at just 83% of pre-Covid volumes, while other EU markets such as Italy and Spain — thanks to Ryanair’s growth — have reached 120% of their pre-Covid traffic. Since Covid, Germany has imposed the largest increases in air traffic control charges, airport fees and environmental taxes, inevitably leading to a historic collapse in German air travel, tourism and economic growth.

Yesterday’s decision by Chancellor Merz to cut the environmental tax by €3 from July is welcome, but he should now go further and abolish this harmful environmental tax entirely — and do so from January 2026, not July 2026.”