Ryanair Closes Berlin Base: What UK Travellers Need to Know About Rising Fares and Fewer Flights

With Ryanair cutting Berlin capacity by half, passengers and industry experts are bracing for a notable rise in European airfares.

Europe's largest low-cost airline, Ryanair, has announced it will close its operational base at Berlin Brandenburg Airport on 24 October 2026. All seven aircraft currently stationed at the German capital will be withdrawn, and the airline's flights to and from Berlin will be cut by 50 per cent from the winter 2026/27 schedule. Annual passenger numbers on Ryanair's Berlin operation are expected to drop from 4.5 million to approximately 2.2 million — wiping out more than two million seats a year from the market.

The decision stems from a long-running dispute over the escalating cost of operating within Germany's aviation market. Ryanair has maintained that Germany has become one of the most expensive countries in Europe for airlines, with airport charges, passenger taxes, security levies, and air traffic control fees all rising considerably in recent years.

When Berlin Brandenburg Airport announced a further round of fee increases, it appears to have been the deciding factor. For a budget carrier built entirely on operational efficiency and competitive pricing, continuously rising costs make it impossible to sustain affordable fares. Ryanair has confirmed it will relocate its Berlin-based aircraft to airports across Europe where governments have taken the opposite approach — actively reducing or abolishing aviation taxes to attract airline investment and drive passenger growth.

This closure does not come out of nowhere. In recent years, Ryanair has already wound down operations at several other German airports, including Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, and Stuttgart, and has permanently cancelled routes to a number of smaller German cities. Berlin represents the latest and largest step in what has become a steady withdrawal from the German market.

The aircraft leaving Berlin will be redeployed to lower-cost airports across Europe, including destinations in Sweden, Italy, Slovakia, and Albania — countries that have actively moved to reduce aviation taxes and make themselves more attractive to budget carriers. Ryanair has made clear that it will continue growing its overall European network, just not in Germany.

The simplest advice is to act early. With capacity set to reduce significantly from late October, travellers planning trips to Berlin or through Germany should look at securing their flights sooner rather than later. As available seats become scarcer, prices are likely to move upward quickly.

At Crystal Travel, our team is keeping a close eye on how the European flight landscape is evolving. If you are planning a trip and want to make sure you are getting the best routes and the best value, speak to one of our travel specialists today. We are here to help you plan smarter, whatever the market throws at you.