Ryanair boosts Belfast flights and cuts Berlin capacity

The Irish airline will increase available seats between London and Belfast this Christmas to compensate for a flight cap at Dublin airport.

Ryanair will make an extra 50,000 seats available for those travelling between London and Belfast this Christmas.
The airline said the move is motivated by a policy at Dublin airport, which caps annual passenger numbers at 32 million.
Additional flights to and from Belfast, Ryanair argued, would make travel “more affordable for Dublin passengers” – although the group warned of a price spike.
The passenger cap was first put in place in 2007 as a requirement for the expansion of Dublin airport.
When proposals for Terminal 2 were being considered, officials were concerned about road traffic congestion around the site.
“Dublin Airport, which has recently opened a 2nd runway taking capacity to 60m passengers, is constrained due to an outdated 2007 traffic cap of 32m passengers,” said Rynanair in a statement on Monday.
CEO Michael O’Leary added: “We believe air fares to Dublin this Christmas will hit €500 one-way as Christmas approaches and reduced seat capacity fills.
“We urge passengers intending to travel home to family at Christmas to book their travel early and avoid what will be record high air fares.”
During the Christmas period, the airline says it will usually have an additional 270,000 seats to and from Dublin. 
The group therefore points to high demand as the reason for price hikes, although some Irish ministers have questioned the necessity of increasing ticket costs.
DAA, which owns Dublin airport, has submitted a planning application to raise the passenger cap to 40 million a year. A decision could, however, take several years.
On Tuesday, Ryanair also announced that it would be cutting 20% of its traffic at Berlin-Brandenburg airport, the equivalent of some 750,000 lost seats.
The airline blames high access costs in Germany and, notably, a recent hike in Germany’s aviation tax, a measure brought in by the government in May to plug its budget deficit.
Depending on the route, passenger-paid taxes on flying increased by 19% to between €15.53 and €70.83 per seat in May – a shift which some feared could harm demand.
A spokesperson for Germany’s Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) nonetheless told Euronews on Tuesday: “Passenger traffic in Germany has continued to approach pre-crisis levels in recent months, with long-haul traffic now at 100% compared to pre-COVID-19 levels.
“This shows that people want to fly, even though ticket prices have risen for various reasons.
“When adjusting the aviation tax, which was decided as a result of the Federal Constitutional Court’s budget ruling, it was important to us that German airlines do not face competitive disadvantages.”