Ryanair's Swedish snub

Ryanair has said it may shift its Scandinavian focus from Sweden to Denmark in response to changes in each country's airport tax systems.

The budget airline currently serves three airports in Sweden and two in Denmark.

But according to newswire Ritzau Beureau, Ryanair is considering moving some flights from Malmo in Sweden to Copenhagen. It had previously been reluctant to begin flying to the Danish capital due to high taxes.

The move is in response to simultaneous tax changes in the two countries. While Sweden is set to introduce a new environmental levy on July 1, Denmark will on the same day withdraw a passenger tax.

The new Swedish tax would add around €12.50 to ticket prices, according to The Copenhagen Post.

Ryanair currently flies to Aarhus and Esbjerg in Denmark, which are both a four-hour train journey from Copenhagen. It also serves Malmo in Sweden, which is only an hour from the Danish capital.

But Ryanair's Nordic chief Karl Hoegstadius said Ryanair has already decided to move one flight from Malmo to Copenhagen when the tax changes come into force and admitted the move could have an impact on its other Swedish services.

Unlike rival easyJet, Ryanair serves a large number of airports in the Nordics, including Oslo and Haugesund in Norway and Tampere in Finland.

© Adfero Ltd

Comments

[Erik Skelmose]

I have often wondered why Ryanair do not consider flying to Odense Airport (Beldringe). It is 1½ hours from Copenhagen, 1½ hours from Aarhus and 1½ hours from Esbjerg, in other words a very central airport at the third largest city in Denmark.

P.S. We do want a direct flight to Prestwick from Denmark

[Jill]

Ideally, Ryanair could also fly to Roskilde Airport. Roskilde is only 30 minutes away from Copenhagen and still avoids heavy aiport traffic.

[james stirling]

I have always wondered why Ryanair doesn't have a service from Gothenburg to Edinburgh?

The amount of golfers who would travel would be huge as it is nearer the home of golf and surrounded by numerous others. I know they are considering moving from Malmo to Denmark, but Gothenburg is hugely popular with Swedish and Scottish people.

[Peter Smith]

I really hope they do start using Copenhagen as a hub & expand - they could do direct routes to Liverpool! Since Sterling went down, there's only really Norwegian for cheap flights as easyJet only fly direct to Stansted & Berlin.