Threatened flights to Morocco: Ryanair’s incredible winning poker move in Belgium

The BSCA airport in Charleroi had found itself at the heart of a real political and media storm in recent months. The federal government, led by Bart De Wever, was considering doubling the federal boarding tax (from 5 to 10 euros), while the city of Charleroi was planning to introduce a new municipal tax of 3 euros per passenger to replenish its coffers.

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Faced with this double fiscal offensive, Ryanair had brought out the heavy artillery. The company had firmly threatened to debase its planes from the Gosselies tarmac, reduce its seat offer in Belgium and, a crucial point in its retaliation, cancel several of its highly prized flights to Morocco. While some observers initially thought it was a bluff - Charleroi being historically the most profitable base for the Irish company - the strategy has finally worked perfectly.

The company has indeed won the battle. As reported by the economic daily L’Echo, Bart De Wever has committed this week to re-evaluating the federal tax by July. This retreat was made under pressure from the Walloon Region, which denounced a flat-rate tax unfairly penalizing Charleroi compared to Brussels airport Zaventem (preferring a tax proportional to the ticket price). At the same time, the City of Charleroi has thrown in the towel and announced that it will not appeal the cancellation of its local tax by the Walloon minister. A working group will now look into other financing solutions.

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The BSCA airport, which had logically supported Ryanair in the face of the risks to employment and its development, welcomed these announcements. However, the management invites the federal government to speed up the process. A decision set for July is considered too late, as the flight schedules for the next winter season - including the maintenance or not of the Moroccan routes - are already in the process of being finalized.