Ryanair is set to slash its UK flights by 10% in the coming year, a response to Labour’s hike in air passenger duty announced in the autumn Budget.

Michael O’Leary, the CEO of Ryanair, lambasted the Budget on Friday, claiming it has “damaged” the prospects for UK growth and significantly increased the cost of flying.

O’Leary indicated that Ryanair would have to “review” its flight schedules. The anticipated cuts could result in up to five million fewer passengers passing through UK airports.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed that from the financial year 2026/27, air passenger duty (APD) will increase, adding as much as £2 to the price of an economy ticket on short-haul flights. Meanwhile, private jet flyers are set to be hit with a 50% surge in APD.

The rates for passenger duty are determined by both the distance of the flight and the travel class.

O’Leary stressed the importance of making it more affordable to fly in the UK and criticised Labour for having “damaged tourism and damaged air travel to and from the UK”.

He went on to say: “Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s idiotic decision to further raise the UK’s already high air travel taxes will deliver cuts, not growth.”

He also warned: “This short-sighted tax grab will make air travel much more expensive for ordinary UK families going on holidays abroad and will make the UK a less competitive destination compared to Ireland, Sweden, Hungary and Italy where these Governments are abolishing travel taxes to stimulate traffic, tourism, and jobs growth in their economies.”

Ryanair announced a record-breaking August, flying a whopping 20.5 million passengers.

Yet, the airline was hit by a significant profit drop of 46% earlier in the year when average flight prices tumbled by around 15% in June.

In the Wednesday address to the Commons, the Chancellor said: “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.”

CEO Michael O’Leary slammed the new policy, a sentiment echoed by Karen Dee, the chief executive of trade association AirportsUK, who called the announcement “disappointing”.