From the price of pints to the cost of railcards and London tube fares, for better or for worse, last week’s government Budget announcement has had major implications on our day to day spending. One guy who seems particularly unhappy with the results of the Budget is Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary.
Ryanair plans to axe flights to and from UK airports by 10 percent following Labour’s decision to increase the tax on air travel, which O’Leary has called ‘idiotic’.
The budget included an increase in Air Passenger Duty (APD), the tax you have to pay when flying from most UK airports, by £2. That means that in the 2026/27 financial year, economy tickets for short-haul flights will be £2 more expensive.
O’Leary says that the tax hike has ‘made air travel much more expensive’ and that Ryanair will have to ‘review’ its schedules. None of Ryanair’s services have officially been cancelled yet, but the cuts could apparently affect up to five million passengers.
Eyes on the skies
Thanks to a shortage of aircraft, one other British airline has had to cancel hundreds of long-haul flights from the UK. And if you’re flying home or away for the festive season, beware – this UK airport is the most likely to cancel your flight this Christmas. In some more positive aviation news, London Heathrow was recently declared the most connected airport on the globe, there are a bunch of new routes running from Birmingham and new affordable flights from Edinburgh to New York.
Did you see that Tui is returning to one of the UK’s ‘best’ airports for the first time in 15 years?
Plus: This is the updated Foreign Office ‘Do Not Travel’ list.
Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out UK newsletter for the latest UK news and the best stuff happening across the country.