Irish low-cost airline Ryanair is closing its base at Berlin's international airport, withdrawing seven passenger aircraft stationed in the German capital and halving its flight schedule due to suspected plans to increase fees. "The Berlin base will close on October 24 this year," the airline announced today. Flights to the city will continue, but with aircraft based outside Germany. The number of Ryanair passengers at Berlin-Brandenburg Airport (BER) is expected to drop by about half by 2027, from 4.5 million to 2.2 million. The airline said this move is a direct consequence of the airport's plans to raise fees again by 10% between 2027 and 2029. The airport operator dismissed the claim and said it was surprised by the announcement, with both sides currently in negotiations. "No such increase in airport fees is planned," a spokesperson emphasized. Eddie Wilson, head of Ryanair in Germany, stated that "German aviation is broken." "There is no strategy to reduce aviation taxes or high airport fees—despite Ryanair's warning that Germany would lose traffic, connectivity, jobs, and trade," Wilson argued. The airline said that "all seven aircraft based in Berlin in this case will be relocated to lower-cost airports in other EU states that have abolished aviation taxes, such as Sweden, Slovakia, Albania, and Italy."