Ryanair, today called on the EU Commission President, to stop talking about competitiveness and instead deliver.
Ryanair has forwarded a letter to President Von der Leyen, enclosing a report from the French Senate which confirms that French ATC is “the worst in Europe”, with French ATC delays increasing by 60% in 2025 over 2019 delay levels.
While European ATC fees rise at last in tandem with ATC flight delays, President von der Leyen sits in Brussels doing nothing about EU air traffic control delays or cost inflation other than making empty speeches about competitiveness but she fails to deliver anything.
European airlines have repeatedly called on President von der Leyen to deliver real reform of European ATC by:
(1) mandating that all ATC providers are fully staffed for the first wave of morning flights or suffer fines; and
(2) protect overflights during national ATC strikes.
Ryanair went on to say that despite spending 2 years talking about competitiveness (since the 2024 Draghi Report), von der Leyen has done nothing to deliver any real change. She loves talking about competitiveness while doing absolutely nothing to deliver it. Even the French Senate now admits that French ATC is “the worst in Europe” and cost EU airlines €800m in 2025. Yet EU airlines are prohibited from recovering these costs from Europe’s failing ATC providers. This failure has to change.
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said:
“It is time for Useless von der Leyen to stop talking about competitiveness and start delivering it. For many years now, Europe’s airlines have called for effective reform of Europe’s failing ATC services. At a minimum, this requires the Commission to mandate that Europe’s ATC providers are fully staffed for the first wave of morning flights or face real and penal fines. We also have called for protection of overflights during national ATC strikes. Despite these repeated calls, Useless von der Leyen has done nothing. She is great at giving speeches but is useless when it comes to delivering real reform or competitiveness in Europe.
2 years after the Draghi Report gave Europe the roadmap for improving competitiveness, Useless von der Leyen has delivered nothing. No change, no reform, no improvement in either the cost or delays imposed on EU citizens by ATC delays, and no real reform of ETS taxation either.
This is a useless President who loves giving speeches, but when it comes to delivering reform for Europe’s citizens, she hides in the Berlaymont doing nothing. It is time for Useless von der Leyen to deliver real reform or resign and let somebody competent deliver the competitiveness and change that Mario Draghi called for in his 2024 report.
The fact that the Draghi Report has sat on the shelves in President von der Leyen’s office gathering dust is another stunning indictment of her abject failure to lead Europe, or to deliver competitive reforms for European citizens, while US and Chinese competitors streak ahead of failing Europe.
One of the few industries where Europe leads the world is low-fare air travel. We have a more competitive airline industry in Europe than exists in either China or North America. Yet we have seen no delivery from President von der Leyen to reform Europe’s failing ATC or to abolish our penal and discriminatory environmental taxes. It is indefensible that Europe continues to tax its own citizens on intra-EU flights with ETS, while exempting all non-EU flights, despite the fact that these flights account for more than 50% of the EU CO2 emissions.
Yet again, Useless von der Leyen makes speeches but delivers no real reform. She should quit and let somebody competent deliver the reform, and competitiveness that Europe so badly needs, but which she has totally failed to deliver.”
