Ryanair urges Irish government to scrap air duty

Ryanair has welcomed the decision by the Spanish Government to reduce airport taxes to zero for all airlines that maintain or increase the traffic they achieved at Spain’s largest airports in the second half of 2008 during the corresponding period this year.

Ryanair welcomed this move as the latest in a series of initiatives by European governments to lower taxes and airport charges in order to reverse recent traffic and tourism declines. In recent weeks these initiatives have included:

1. The Belgian Government scrapped its air passenger tax.
2. The Greek Government reduced its regional airport charges to zero for 2009.
3. The Dutch Government has repealed its €12 air passenger tax.
4. The Spanish Government has announced a zero rate of airport tax for airlines that maintain or grow traffic.

Ryanair called again on the Irish Government to urgently scrap its €10 air passenger duty which was introduced on all passengers departing Irish airports from 1st April last. This decision by the Irish Government to tax visitors and tourists at a time when Irish traffic and tourism is facing collapse is nothing less than “tourism suicide”.

Calling on the Government to scrap its travel tax, Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary said:

“Tourism is one of the few industries which the Irish Government has some control over. It is also one of the industries which responds quickest to price increases and price cuts. The Irish Government should now follow the example of their Belgian, Dutch, Greek and Spanish counterparts and scrap this stupid €10 tourist tax before any further damage is done to Irish tourism.

“The Government must now scrap this silly tax, and while they are at it the Government should also force the Government owned DAA monopoly to immediately reduce all charges at the three main airports by a minimum of 30% which would return the DAA charges to what they were just two years ago in 2007.

“This Government is strangling one of its most important industries, tourism, with suicidal taxes and high airport charges. Is it any wonder that traffic and tourism continues to decline in the face of such a stupid and suicidal taxation policy?”