31-07-2025
Fears over future of south-west France airport after Ryanair announcement
On Wednesday, Irish budget airline Ryanair
announced
it would be scaling down its winter operations and ending flights to and from Bergerac Dordogne Périgord Airport, located in south-west France, as well as two other regional airports, Brive (in Corrèze) and Strasbourg.
The announcement affects only winter flights, for the moment there is no information on whether it will also affect the summer schedule.
The company said the decision was due to France's recent increase on the eco solidarity tax on flights, or the
taxe sur les billets d'avion
(TSBA) - although it has also announced new routes to France since the tax came into effect.
READ MORE:
What is France's airline 'eco tax' and how does it affect ticket prices?
For Bergerac airport, an hour and a half away from Bordeaux by car and a popular choice for people visiting south-west France, the loss of Ryanair could have serious consequences.
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During the 2025 summer schedule, Ryanair operated the
majority
of the flights on offer, flying predominantly to locations in the UK, such as Bournemouth, Bristol, Brussels-Charleroi, East Midlands, Liverpool, Edinburgh, and London Stansted.
The winter flight schedule had not yet been published by the airport.
What impact on Bergerac airport?
The company's
statement
, which primarily focused on downsizing winter operations, was vague as to whether the airport closures could be permanent.
The Local has asked Ryanair for further clarification, but the company said they had "nothing further to add at this time".
As for Bergerac airport, a spokesperson told The Local: "Ryanair has announced that it is suspending service to the airport for the winter season (November to March).
"This decision will affect the Bergerac-Stansted route, which is the only Ryanair route normally operated during this period, meaning it will have a limited impact when it comes to annual traffic.
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"During the summer season (April-October), Ryanair operates seven routes from Bergerac. There is no available information yet regarding Ryanair's plans for the 2026 summer season."
According to local news outlet Dordogne Libre, part of the closure of this route was already anticipated.
"Due to the planned work to replace the runway lighting, the platform will be closed for the first six to eight weeks at the start of 2026," Dordogne Libre reported.
Nevertheless, Olivier Léger, the president of the Bergerac-Dordogne-Perigorad Airport operating company (
Société d'exploitation de l'aeroport Bergerac
), told
ICI Périgord
that: "It is a real financial loss [to lose Ryanair during the winter period]."
Léger told the local news outlet that the decision would only affect the off-peak winter period, and that flights would still be operated during the high travel season of spring and summer.
Meanwhile, Christophe Fauvel, the President of the Dordogne Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), told
Franceinfo
on Wednesday: "If Ryanair decides to go through with its threat to leave Bergerac for good, we could be talking about closing the airport.
"Ryanair accounts for around 70 percent of Bergerac airport's full-year traffic."
However Fauvel cautioned that if the airline focuses solely on cutting flights during the winter period, then the impact would be much smaller, noting that the airport handles "between four to five times fewer people in the winter than in the summer. This impact would be relatively limited for Bergerac."
There is also the possibility that Ryanair could change its mind entirely, as the company initially
threatened to halve its schedule
from France following the initial proposal for France to treble its flight tax.
Ryanair ceased operations entirely at the small north-eastern airport of Vatry (XCR), in Reims, in March 2025. This led to two route closures connecting Vatry airport with Porto and Marrakech.
In 2024, the company also pulled out of Bordeaux airport in a separate dispute over airport fees.
