UK airports are being put at an “enormous disadvantage” because of air passenger duty (APD), Ryanair has claimed.
Chief commercial officer Jason McGuinness said many airports outside London are being “hamstrung” because the tax limits growth in flight capacity.
Passengers with economy tickets for UK departures are charged APD at a rate of £6.50 for domestic flights and £13 for short-haul trips.
The rate increases for longer flights and passengers travelling in premium cabins.
APD was one of the reasons cited by Ryanair when it pulled up the wheels and left Belfast International Airport in October 2021.
The Irish carrier later returned to Aldergrove in April 2023, when APD on domestic flights was cut from £13 to £6.50.
At the time, Mr McGuinness claimed: “Without this tax, Ryanair would place up to four or five aircraft in Belfast and certainly double the number of passengers and double the number of routes.”
Speaking this week, he said Ryanair was “working closely” with some small UK regional airports.
“But to be honest, they’re at an enormous disadvantage now versus their European competitors,” he said.
“We allocate capacity based on one metric only - that’s cost.
“We’ve done long term deals with the likes of Dubrovnik and Tangier, our two new bases.
“Do we put capacity into those bases or do we put capacity into somewhere like Exeter or Teesside where we have the £13 departure penalty on those passengers?
“The answer is clear, we’re not going to do that because we are quite sensible in the way we allocate capacity.
“London will be always fine, but where UK APD is doing untold damage is to the regional UK airports.
“I think that’s going to get worse over the next number of years, predominantly because European airports are becoming significantly more competitive.”
The Treasury was approached for a comment.
