European airlines demand reduction in airport landing fees

European airlines are stepping up pressure on airports to slash landing charges, leading to warnings of a race to the bottom in an industry decimated by the pandemic. Ryanair, Wizz Air and easyJet are among the carriers pushing airports to discount fees as they decide where to fly when passengers begin returning in significant numbers.  Michael O’Leary, CE of Ryanair, said that airports will be under “ferocious pressure” to recover their traffic levels. O’Leary offered the example of his airline’s expansion at Venice airport, where a new base and 18 new routes were announced in December following what Ryanair called “competitive” pricing.  “Aircraft numbers are going to move significantly to wherever we can get the best deals,” he said.  Airports typically make up their income from a mix of landing fees for the use of their runways by airlines and revenues from their own facilities including retail space, catering and car parking. The collapse in passenger numbers during the pandemic has blown a hole in both these business lines.  Olivier Jankovec, DG of airports lobby group ACI Europe, warned that airports’ financial situations were worsening and the pressure to discount their charges was unsustainable.  “When you hear from airlines like easyJet, Ryanair or Wizz Air, it is very clear they want to use the crisis as an opportunity to lower their costs . . . We are basically at the moment in an airports beauty contest,” he said. “You can’t expect airport charges to go down forever, that race to the bottom is not sustainable,” he said, pointing to fixed costs such as air traffic control and other infrastructure that cannot be cut in a crisis. <br/>