Budget airline Ryanair has slammed the chancellor over a flight tax as it launched a new route from Bristol Airport.
The carrier will operate two flights a week to Toulouse, in the South of France, as part of its summer 2025 schedule from the South West transport hub.
The route to the French city is one of 35 destinations Ryanair is flying to and from Bristol Airport this summer, with others including Milan, Madrid, Prague and Budapest.
Ryanair’s Comms Director, Jade Kirwan, said: “Ryanair is pleased to see the first flight of our new Summer 2025 route from Bristol to Toulouse take-off, carrying lots of happy holidaymakers and marking the beginning of the Summer 2025 season."
The announcement came as Ryanair hit out at Rachel Reeves over plans to raise air passenger duty (ADP) taxes. The decision, announced at the end of October, will add up to £2 to the cost of an economy ticket for a short-haul flight.
Ryanair is calling on the government to abolish APD, which is charged on each traveller and is based on where their journey ends.
The airline said scrapping the tax would allow it to "deliver ambitious growth" for the º£½ÇÊÓƵ for the rest of the decade.
"Rachel Reeves’ bizarre decision to raise APD taxes by £2 per passenger damages these growth prospects, and in particular regional º£½ÇÊÓƵ airports," a spokesperson for the airline said.
"If the º£½ÇÊÓƵ government wants to deliver growth, they should abolish their penal and damaging APD tax, which makes the º£½ÇÊÓƵ uncompetitive when EU countries like Hungary, Ireland, Sweden and regions in Italy are abolishing aviation taxes, and winning dramatic traffic, tourism, and jobs growth from the º£½ÇÊÓƵ as a result."
Ms Reeves told the Commons last October that: “Air passenger duty has not kept up with inflation in recent years so we are introducing an adjustment, meaning an increase of no more than £2 for an economy class short-haul flight."
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