Ryanair will not be landing at Orly. According to our information, Michael O'Leary, CEO of the Irish budget airline, ultimately vetoed the deal on Tuesday, December 17. A few weeks ago, the low-cost carrier had obtained two slots from the Association for the Coordination of Schedules to serve Bratislava and Bergamo (Italy) from the capital's southern platform. This was a break with Ryanair's strategy, which has always favored secondary airports. When contacted, the company could not be reached at this time.

Rather than pay the hefty airport taxes at Orly or Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle, which are considered too expensive, Ryanair prefers to collect the substantial subsidies paid by provincial airports to encourage it to stay.

It was during the distribution of 8,000 unused flight slots that Ryanair won its first two Paris slots. Spanish budget airline Volotea, which specializes in trans-European connections between secondary airports, obtained enough slots to operate 13 flights per week, mainly going to Italy.

It's not the first time Ryanair has tried to secure slots at Orly. With Air France leaving for Roissy, the airport seems increasingly devoted to low-cost airlines. Transavia, Air France's low-cost subsidiary, reigns supreme there; by summer 2025, it will have more than 70 aircraft based there, operating over 985 rotations a week. In addition to Transavia and Volotea, other budget airlines are expanding at Orly, including Wizz Air, Vueling, ASL Airlines and easyJet. Take-off and landing slots at Orly are increasingly sought after, with the airport's saturation point approaching. With 220,000 slots a year, the second-largest Paris airport is close to its limit of 250,000.

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