Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary criticised the lack of growth at Brussels Airport in Zaventem compared to Charleroi on Wednesday due to its "hopelessly uncompetitive" approach.
O'Leary welcomed growth at Charleroi Airport, which is located 60 kilometres south of Brussels in Wallonia. He said there was no similar growth at Brussels Airport in Zaventem.
"Charleroi continues to grow thanks to its competitive fees and efficient facilities," he said. "Meanwhile, Zaventem continues to stagnate and has failed to recover its pre-Covid traffic due to its expensive and rising fees, and its failure to compete for traffic recovery or growth."
The low-cost Irish airline will launch four new flights to Katowice (Poland), Nea Anchialos (Greece), Rome and Salerno (Italy). Pre-existing routes to 40 destinations will also be reinforced with extra flights.
EU: Deregulate and scrap aviation tax
O'Leary expressed his hope for reduced aviation regulation under the EU's new, more right-wing European Commission, the bloc's executive body.
"One of the advantages of having a Greek Transport Commissioner [Apostolos Tzitzikostas, ed.] is that Greece is heavily dependent on low fare air travel," he said. "They are one of the peripheral countries in Europe, and he gets it [...] I think he is someone who is committed to efficiency and reform, and he comes from a business background."
Passengers waiting in the departure hall of Brussels Airport. Credit: Belga / Nicolas Maeterlinck
He also commended the Draghi Report, former European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi's 2024 report that underlines the EU's need to become a more competitive global player.
The CEO added that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen needed to show "leadership" by reforming the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system, preventing national governments from regulating air travel and scrapping aviation taxes, which O'Leary says penalise air passengers.
"We need to go back to when the Commission really mattered instead of wasting time and resources and pandering to the Parliament."
'Absolutely no qualms' about emissions
Speaking to The Brussels Times, O'Leary said that he had "absolutely no qualms" about the impact of the aviation sector on the environment.
Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary. Credit: The Brussels Times
"We are investing billions of dollars in new aircraft technology that will dramatically reduce our fuel consumption, noise emissions and CO2 emissions," he said.
"There is a completely disproportionate focus on air travel. Air travel accounts for less than 2% of Europe's CO2 emissions. Motor transport accounts for 26%."
He acknowledged that emissions are difficult to lower, "but the economic benefit of air travel far outweighs the environmental impact."
During the press conference, O'Leary pointed to the airline's efforts to get rid of all paper tickets to reduce waste and protect the environment.
