Ryanair Vs. The European Union – OpEd |
By Cláudia Ascensão Nunes
Ryanair, the Irish budget airline, is preparing to cut millions of seats and abandon multiple routes in 2026 because the European political and regulatory environment is making the low-cost model increasingly difficult to sustain.
In 1985, inspired by Southwest Airlines, the first major low-cost airline in the world, and following the liberalization of European airspace, Ryanair brought the low-cost model to scale in Europe, revolutionizing air travel across the continent. It did so through an efficiency-driven model that enabled the sale of extremely low-cost tickets in a market previously dominated by expensive legacy carriers.
Flying ceased to be a luxury and became a real possibility for ordinary citizens. The success of Ryanair’s model created competition and triggered a domino effect: certain European routes saw real price reductions of between 50% and 70%. Even traditional airlines were forced to adapt, introducing “light” fares and adjusting their pricing structures.
Today, low-cost airlines are responsible for carrying more than 500 to 600 million passengers per year in Europe.
However, 41 years later, Ryanair is preparing to cut around 3 million seats, corresponding to an estimated 75 to 90 routes across Europe. A combination of aggressive green ideology........