Starting in the summer of 2025, Ryanair will cease operations in three major German cities, as part of a significant reduction in its presence in the country.
“Ryanair will stop all operations in Dortmund, Dresden, and Leipzig, and reduce flights to Hamburg by 60%, resulting in a loss of 1.8 million passengers,” said Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson.
For the state of Saxony, this means Leipzig will lose its only direct connection to London. Flights from Dresden to Mallorca have already been canceled, though other airlines will continue to operate on this route.
In total, Wilson announced that Ryanair will soon cut 22 routes across Germany.
“Germany has only recovered 82% of its pre-COVID traffic, making it the worst-performing aviation market in Europe. Due to high government taxes and charges — the highest in Europe — and the monopoly of Lufthansa, citizens and visitors in Germany are paying the highest airfares in Europe,” Wilson added.
In contrast, Ryanair is expanding its operations in other EU countries like Sweden, Italy, Hungary, and Poland. The airline’s statement directly criticized the German government for its “inability to reduce the air traffic tax and security fees.”
Other airlines, such as Easyjet, are also scaling back their flight offerings from Germany.