Ryanair Closes Its Berlin BER Base, Cutting Winter Flights by Half

On 24 October, Ryanair completed the closure of its Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) base, withdrawing seven stationed aircraft and halving its Berlin capacity for the winter schedule. Twelve direct routes from BER are cancelled as a result, ending connections to Bologna, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Marseille, Palermo, Pisa, Reggio Calabria, Tallinn, Thessaloniki, Trieste and Vilnius. Ryanair — which has described BER as the most unsuccessful airport in Europe — points to airport charges that have risen massively since the pandemic, compounded by higher security fees, air-navigation charges and the German air transport tax. The airline is redirecting its capacity to European markets with lower operating costs, including by adding aircraft at Warsaw-Modlin. The timing is awkward for BER: according to Eurostat data analysed by Euronews, Berlin recorded 26.1 million passengers in 2025, and Warsaw-Chopin has already temporarily overtaken the German capital in passenger numbers during 2026. BER chief executive Aletta von Massenbach has acknowledged that the Ryanair withdrawal will weigh on the airport's passenger figures. Industry groups warn that Germany is lagging behind other European countries in the recovery of air travel, and that fewer direct connections risk reducing international accessibility for businesses — a particular concern for Berlin, which has long sought to attract more long-haul and business routes.