Ryanair will end all flights to and from Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST) in the Netherlands after failing to reach a new commercial agreement with the airport.
The Irish ULCC plans to cancel five routes and remove 150,000 annual seats as it accused MST of becoming “one of the most expensive airports in Europe” due to “excessive cost increases.” Ryanair also pointed to the Dutch government’s aviation tax, which has increased to nearly €30 ($34) per passenger, calling it a “soaring” and “illogical” burden.
“These significant cost increases make Maastricht Airport one of the most expensive airports in Europe and completely uncompetitive compared to other countries and low-cost airports elsewhere in Europe,” said Jason McGuinness, Ryanair’s chief commercial officer, late on May 29.
“Maastricht’s sky-high costs are damaging its connectivity, as evidenced by the airport’s failure to recover its traffic post-COVID, lagging far behind the rest of Europe at just 50% of pre-COVID traffic in 2024—a figure set to fall even further following Ryanair’s exit,” McGuinness added.
Ryanair said the capacity removed from Maastricht will be redeployed to airports in countries such as Italy, Poland and Sweden, which the ULCC claims are reducing airport charges and scrapping aviation taxes to encourage traffic growth.
In response, MST confirmed the end of its partnership with Ryanair but defended its approach to pricing and cost recovery. “We have been in intensive discussions with Ryanair over the past months about the conditions under which we could continue the collaboration from the winter season 2025-26,” the airport says in a statement. “Unfortunately, we have not reached an agreement.”
The airport emphasized its goal of reaching break-even earnings by 2027, saying it was prioritizing agreements “that are profitable and can cover our costs with a healthy margin.”
It also acknowledged that the Dutch aviation tax had complicated negotiations. “The fact that the Netherlands has a high government tax on airline tickets, higher than neighboring countries, has of course not helped in bringing the talks with Ryanair to a successful conclusion,” the statement adds.
Despite the carrier’s exit, MST says it remains optimistic about future growth. “We are convinced that there are interesting opportunities for airlines at [Maastricht] and that a good business can be built up for both the airline and the airport,” the statement says.
According to OAG Schedules Analyser data, Ryanair accounts for 76% of the total seat capacity available from MST during the summer 2025 season, flying routes to Alicante and Girona, Spain; Bari, Italy; Porto, Portugal; and Zadar, Croatia.
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