European airlines are putting pressure on airports to reduce the costs of landing charges.
Airlines who are pushing airports to offer discounted fees include Ryanair, Wizz Air and easyJet as carriers look for the best deals post-Covid.
Michael O’Leary, Chief Executive of Ryanair, said: “Aircraft numbers are going to move significantly to wherever we can get the best deals.”
Wizz Air’s UK Managing Director Owain Jones said: “There is a market price to everything. When airports are full the price goes up, and when airports are empty there is the ability to negotiate a better price.”
Andrew Findlay, Chief Financial Officer of easyJet, said: “Clearly, they’re incentivised to get as many passengers through their airports as we are.”
Olivier Jankovec, Director-General of ACI Europe, warned that the “race to the bottom is not sustainable”.
He said: “When you hear from airlines like easyJet, Ryanair or Wizz Air, it is very clear they want to use the crisis as an opportunity to lower their costs.
“You can’t expect airport charges to go down for ever – that race to the bottom is not sustainable.”
ACI Europe has estimated that 6,000 flight routes across Europe have been lost during the crisis, leaving airports competing between themselves to restore traffic.
