Ryanair cuts winter schedule and warns of 2027 fare hikes

Ryanair has revealed plans to cut the number of flights it operates over the coming winter period and increase air fares “materially” across Europe in 2027.

Ryanair to run fewer flights this winter

The Irish budget airline has said it will reduce the number of flights it runs over the coming winter period between November and March. As such, target passenger numbers to next April will be reduced from 216 million to 214 million.

It remains unclear which routes will be cut. Back in October 2025, the airline already cut 24 flights in and out of nine German airports, including Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne and Frankfurt-Hahn.

While Ryanair does not operate out of Swiss airports in Zurich and Geneva, many expats living in Switzerland take advantage of flights from Basel or across the border in Memmingen, Milan or Karlsruhe.

The airline typically records a loss over the winter and said the winter schedule cut would be a “one-off”, which should reduce seasonal losses from 170 million euros to 100 million euros.

Nevertheless, Ryanair said it was “well placed to record another profitable year”, albeit below record profits in 2026. Between March 2025 and March 2026, the airline’s profits surged by 40 percent to 2,26 billion euros.

Ticket prices to increase next year

Despite profit predictions, Ryanair warned passengers that if oil prices remain high, air fares will increase across Europe in 2027. Rising fuel prices have persisted longer than expected as the US and Israel’s war on Iran moves into its sixth month.

Ryanair said that high unhedged oil prices made it “sensible” to reduce the number of flights over the winter period. “If high oil prices continue through to [summer] ‘27,” the airline explained, “short-haul airfares in Europe will increase materially to reflect higher oil prices, as some less well-hedged competitors will struggle to maintain capacity or even survive.”

Other airlines, such as the Lufthansa Group, which owns SWISS, British Airways owner AIG and KLM in the Netherlands, have all announced plans to slow or cut passenger capacity over the coming winter.

As air traffic slows, night train routes are growing, with companies like European Sleeper, Sweden’s Snälltåget and Austria’s Nightjet regularly expanding routes, including via Zurich and Basel.

The European Commission is also developing a pilot project for a train network the bloc is dubbing the “European Metro”, which it hopes would make residents less reliant on short-haul flights to visit family and explore the continent.

This article originally featured on IamExpat Germany.