Ryanair boss rants and threatens France

Michael O'Leary, the head of Ryanair, Europe's leading low-cost airline, threatened on Saturday to "further" reduce capacity in France if the government decides to increase air tax again, prompting an angry response from the transport minister.

"You have this crazy situation where your government is increasing the solidarity tax on airline tickets (TSBA), which went from 2.63 euros to 7.40 euros per ticket" in March 2025, Michael O'Leary begins in an interview with the daily newspaper "Le Parisien", describing the increase as "unjustified" for "a sector that doesn't bring in a lot of money".

He claims to have proposed a plan to France to double annual traffic by 2030, "but only if the government removes taxes." "Otherwise, we have cheaper alternatives elsewhere (...) And if France's response to this is to raise taxes again, then we will further reduce our capacity here," threatens the head of the Irish company.

"I do not tolerate this way of doing things," replied Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot, contacted by Le Parisien. "Dialogue, yes, but no threats," he added, accusing Ryanair of not taking responsibility for having "doubled its profits in one year." The minister, who had personally said he had "reserves" about the idea of making the tax increase permanent in March, denounced Ryanair's "violent" communication "in an attempt to exonerate itself from (its) social and fiscal obligations."

In response to the increase in the solidarity tax on airline tickets, the Irish airline announced at the end of July a 13% reduction in its capacity in France, representing 750,000 fewer seats, abandoning three regional airports (Strasbourg, Bergerac, and Brive) for the winter. Michael O'Leary had nevertheless assured at the end of March that he would not eliminate regional services. "Rather than giving lessons on how the government prepares its next budget, he (Michael O'Leary) would be better off focusing on the service Ryanair provides to its customers," added Philippe Tabarot, citing labor disputes and court rulings.

The Ryanair boss, for his part, attacked French air traffic control, which is "the least efficient in Europe," and the "recreational" strikes by controllers before weekends to obtain, according to him, three additional days off, which lead to "cancellations on overflights" of French territory since, according to him, Paris "overprotects domestic flights." A charge described by the minister as "an excessive caricature of certain behaviors that may exist, for only a minority."