Ryanair has announced major changes at a European airport that serves three UK cities. The airline has revealed it is making cutbacks that will affect one European airport that serves passengers to and from Manchester, Newcastle and Edinburgh.

The airline will reduce the number of seats on offer at Charleroi in Belgium by by 1.1m in 2026 - with another planned 1.1m seat cuts in 2027. The move comes after the company criticised Charleroi City Council for what it said were plans for a €3 tax per passenger departing from Charleroi from April 2026.

It also attacked "the silly Belgium government" and blamed it for announcing a five-fold increase in passenger taxes from €2 in Jan 2025 to €10 in Jan 2027. The firm said in a statement: "These tax increases are silly when other EU countries including Sweden, Slovakia, Hungary, Italy and Albania, have abolished Aviation Taxes to grow traffic, tourism and jobs. Belgium’s tax rises will now send traffic and jobs to other, more competitive, EU countries."

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Ryanair currently offers flights to and from Charleroi and Manchester, Newcastle and Edinburgh. Their website shows currently that many flights are on offer this month alone to and from the UK cities. Ryanair has yet to say which destinations will be affected by the reductions.

Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary said: “Only the Belgium Govt could be so silly to raise Aviation Taxes five-fold, at a time when Sweden, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia and Albania are abolishing their Aviation Taxes. These taxes have failed, and have damaged air travel and tourism in many EU countries, which is why they are being scrapped.

"In Belgium however, the De Wever Govt seems determined to fail, while others are succeeding. Having enjoyed Ryanair’s low fare growth at Charleroi and Zaventem Airport over the last 20 years, the Govt has now decided to raise aviation Taxes (by 5-fold!!) at a time, when almost all other EU States are abolishing them.

"What these silly politicians don’t understand is that aircraft and passengers are mobile. If Belgium wants to tax passengers, then they simply switch to lower cost, non-tax, destinations, like Sweden, Italy, Hungary, Slovakia and Albania. Belgium’s loss will be to the gain of these lower cost, tax-cutting States."

The airline said in a furious statement announcing the reduction in seat numbers that "Ryanair calls on Prime Minister De Wever to reverse these silly tax rises, which will damage Belgium’s competitiveness, and cost Belgium millions of passengers, thousands of flights, and thousands of jobs in tourism and support industries.

"While almost every other EU country is abolishing Aviation Taxes, it makes no sense for Belgium to increase passenger taxes 5-fold, when these taxes have failed in every other EU State. Ryanair, which is Belgium’s largest airline, carrying 11.6m passengers to/from Belgium in 2025, will now cut this figure to (10.6m) in 2026 (if Charleroi Council goes ahead with its €3 tax plan) and will cut further to 9.6m passengers in 2027, if the Belgium Govt doesn’t reverse this idiotic 5-fold increase in passenger taxes.

"The competitiveness of European Aviation is already being damaged by Europe’s mad ETS tax scheme, which taxes only intra-EU flights, while exempting all non-EU flights, and Belgian citizens/visitors cannot be asked to pay even more of these unfair and damaging taxes.

"As many other European States have shown, taxing air travel loses traffic, routes and jobs. If the Belgium economy really wants to grow, then the Govt needs to scrap these silly travel taxes, and allow low-fare airlines – led by Ryanair – to return to growth in Zaventem and in Charleroi, instead of cutting over 2m seats, which is what we now plan to do over the next 2 years."

The Charleroi City Council has reportedly rejected Ryanair's suggestion to cancel the tax. Instead, reports say the measure has already been approved and is in the 2026 budget.