Ryanair Faces Unprecedented Airport Ban
Ryanair has been hit with what it describes as an 'unprecedented' ban preventing the airline from operating flights to a major Dutch airport during specific times of the week. The ruling affects the carrier's operations at Eindhoven Airport, located approximately 60 miles south of Amsterdam.
The Reason Behind the Ban
The Airport Coordination Netherlands (ACNL), the official body responsible for allocating landing slots at Eindhoven Airport, found that Ryanair had been consistently late arriving on Monday and Thursday evenings. The specific flights affected were Monday evening services from Sofia, Bulgaria, and Thursday evening flights from Pisa, Italy.
As a direct consequence of these persistent delays, ACNL has taken the significant step of removing Ryanair from these two valuable slots for next summer's flight schedule. The airport coordination authority stated that delays averaged around an hour and described the hold-ups as 'repeated and deliberate'.
ACNL had previously issued a warning to the budget airline back in June, but according to the authority, the late arrivals continued despite this intervention.
Ryanair's Strong Response
Ryanair has vehemently contested the decision, with a spokesperson telling Metro: 'Ryanair is the most punctual airline in Europe.' The airline has launched appeals against what it terms an 'unprecedented, irrational and disproportionate decision' with both the European Commission and Dutch courts.
The airline insists that its delays at Eindhoven - which ranks as the Netherlands' second-largest airport after Amsterdam Schiphol - were relatively minor. Ryanair claims that ACNL is penalising carriers for air traffic control delays that cause flights to arrive just 15 minutes past their scheduled time.
'This is completely out of whack with the vast majority of European airports where the threshold is much higher and more reasonable,' the spokesperson added.
In the same statement, Ryanair didn't miss the opportunity to criticise EU Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen, referring to her as Ursula von 'Derlayed-Again' and accusing her of failing to take action on air traffic control reform that the airline has long campaigned for.
Broader Context of Ryanair's European Operations
This dispute comes at a time when Ryanair is making significant adjustments to its European network. Earlier this month, CEO Michael O'Leary confirmed that the airline would be scaling back operations in France, following the cancellation of all services to three French destinations several months prior.
Ryanair has explicitly linked these reductions to what it considers unfair air tax costs, stating that unless the French government abolishes this tax, the airline's capacity and investment in France would be redirected to more competitive European markets such as Sweden, Hungary, or parts of Italy.
The airline has also made substantial cuts to its Spanish operations, reducing capacity by 1.2 million seats for next summer. Despite these network adjustments and the current dispute with Eindhoven Airport, UK travellers can still reach Eindhoven via direct Ryanair flights from London Stansted.
The outcome of Ryanair's appeal to both the European Commission and Dutch courts will be closely watched, as it could set a significant precedent for how airlines are penalised for delays across European airports.
