Ryanair CEO threatens to cut UK capacity over proposed tourist levy

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary told reporters that the airline will pull capacity from the UK if the government moves forward with a tourist levy and retains the Air Passenger Duty (APD). He described the proposed mayoral hotel levy as a double tax on visitors, blaming Labour for higher taxes and reduced economic growth. O’Leary said Ryanair is still expanding in the UK but would reconsider if the double tax is implemented, and he linked the removal of APD to the introduction of new aircraft, 200 routes and 10,000 jobs.

He also criticized the new Prime Minister’s comments on neoliberalism and dismissed Andy Burnham’s historical perspective. Additionally, O’Leary called for the dismissal of Martin Rolfe, head of one outlet Air Services, blaming him for recent technical outages, while the Department for Transport declined to comment.