Ryanair is withdrawing from Saxony for good. The Irish low-cost airline is ending its flight connections in Leipzig and Dresden, with high airport costs having a significant influence on the decision. A comeback depends on attractive offers from the airports, says Ryanair manager Marcel Meyer in an interview with the Leipziger Volkszeitung newspaper.
Ryanair has not taken off from Dresden for some time now. Now the last connection in Leipzig is also being discontinued. The last flight from Leipzig to London will depart on March 29, and all flights will be canceled on April 1. In an interview, Marcel Meyer explains that the high costs at Leipzig/Halle and Dresden Airports, which are caused by state aviation taxes and security fees, among other things, make the withdrawal unavoidable.
According to Marcel Meyer, the fees are too high, especially in the area of take-offs and landings and ground services in Leipzig and Dresden. Although the efforts of the Saxon airports to accommodate Ryanair were appreciated, they were not enough to protect the airline's economic interests.
Marcel Meyer explains that Ryanair is specifically expanding in places where conditions are more favorable. For example, in Sweden and Hungary, which have abolished air traffic tax. Within Germany too, Ryanair continues to work according to economic considerations and is reducing capacity at expensive locations in favor of cost-efficient airports such as Lübeck or Karlsruhe.
For the Saxon airports, Ryanair's decision is a sensitive blow, but the airline makes it clear that economic interests take precedence over soft factors and market opportunities. Also because the flight load factor in Leipzig and Dresden was solid, Ryanair is not ending the connections due to a lack of demand, but because of the location costs.
Although there are currently no plans for Ryanair to return to Leipzig or Dresden, talks with the airports remain ongoing. However, Meyer points out that there will be no Ryanair flights in Saxony for summer 2025 and that a comeback in autumn is also unlikely.
In the summary, Marcel Meyer emphasizes: "The decision to withdraw from Leipzig and Dresden is based on economic aspects. Despite solid capacity utilization figures, the location costs were ultimately too high. A return depends on attractive offers from the airports.
