Ryanair Considers Closing Bordeaux Base Due to Potential Fee Increases

Ryanair, the Dublin-based airline, is contemplating the closure of its base at Bordeaux Mérignac Airport, a move that could impact 120 jobs. The Group CEO, Michael O’Leary, voiced concerns to Agence France-Presse in Brussels about the airport’s proposal to significantly increase its fees. “The airport, I think, wants to double our cost. We’re not willing to pay double the cost at Bordeaux,” he explained, highlighting the success of the operation but emphasizing the unsustainability of such cost increases.

This potential closure, which might happen at the end of the summer season, has prompted reactions from France’s national cabin crew union (Syndicat National du Personnel Navigant Commercial – SNPNC), which has called for immediate intervention by French authorities to prevent the base’s shutdown.

Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport, responding to the situation, expressed regret that Ryanair communicated the potential closure to staff without prior discussion and contested the claims about fee increases as “totally erroneous”.

Since establishing its base in Bordeaux in 2019, and having operated flights to the city since 2009, Ryanair has become a significant carrier at the airport, with three aircraft based there. The dispute appears to center around negotiations for airport fees. According to La Tribune, Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport had proposed a 10% increase in its price-list fees for 2023, which was later adjusted to a 5% increase for the period from August 1, 2023, to July 31, 2024, following rejection by local transport authorities.

The airline’s concern mainly lies with the individual pricing for low-cost carriers at the airport’s Billi terminal, where fees are presently reduced by 30% to facilitate passenger growth. Ryanair constitutes almost 30% of the total weekly seat capacity from Bordeaux, making its potential departure a significant blow to the airport.

This issue reflects Ryanair’s broader strategy of aggressively negotiating airport fees to maintain its low-cost business model, a stance that has led to disputes with other airports, including a recent unsuccessful challenge against fee increases at Vilnius Airport in Lithuania.