Ryanair’s standoff with France over aviation taxes has already reshaped the map for regional air travel — and it’s not done yet. But in the final days of December, two smaller airports received a rare piece of positive news for Summer 2026: Tours–Val de Loire Airport and Dole–Jura Airport have both been told they will keep key Ryanair routes, even as other French regional airports brace for further reductions.
For travelers in Centre-Val de Loire and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, the practical takeaway is simple: Summer 2026 connectivity to Marseille, Portugal, and Morocco is still on the table — and some flights are already available to book.
Yet the bigger story sits behind the timetables. Ryanair’s French adjustments are unfolding alongside a wider European pattern: the airline has repeatedly argued that new or rising passenger taxes and airport charges make certain routes “unviable,” redirecting capacity to markets it believes are more competitive. Reuters+2Aviation Week+2
Two regional airports, one headline: Ryanair stays — for now
Ryanair previously confirmed it was cancelling 25 routes across France and stopping operations at Bergerac, Brive and Strasbourg during winter 2025, with warnings that more reductions could follow.
Against that backdrop, confirmations at Tours and Dole-Jura stand out because they preserve exactly the kind of leisure-focused routes (Mediterranean France, Portugal, Morocco) that many regional airports rely on to stay viable year-round.
Still, local officials and airport managers are careful not to frame this as a full return to stability.
Tours–Val de Loire Airport: Marrakech stays, Marseille returns, London remains off the board
In Tours, Ryanair has confirmed it will maintain services in 2026, with bookings already open for summer flights to Marseille and Morocco, and Porto expected after March 2026.
The most concrete reassurance comes not from a press statement, but from the airport’s own published timetable, which lists Summer 2026 schedules and makes two points especially clear:
- Marrakech continues into the Summer 2026 season (the airport lists summer operations running from 29 March to 24 October 2026, noting schedules can change).
- London Stansted has no scheduled service for Winter 2025–2026 and Summer 2026 at Tours.
What’s currently listed for Tours in Summer 2026
Based on The Connexion’s reporting and the Tours airport timetable, Ryanair’s Tours picture for Summer 2026 looks like this:
- Tours–Marrakech: The Connexion reports two weekly flights continuing until October 2026.
- Tours–Marseille: Summer service is listed as operating six days a week.
- Tours–Porto: The Connexion says continuation is expected, with details pending after March 2026, while the airport timetable publishes summer-season days/times and emphasizes schedules remain subject to modification.
- Tours–London (Stansted): No scheduled service shown for Summer 2026.
“A relief,” but not a victory lap
Cyril Godeaux, director of the airport’s syndicat mixte, summed up the mood as relief mixed with caution — describing the confirmation as “a relief,” while warning that the airport is still caught in the broader dispute between Ryanair and the French state over ticket taxes. The Connexion
That caution matters for passengers: in volatile network decisions, routes may survive but frequencies can slip — turning a convenient weekly pattern into something harder to plan around.
Dole–Jura Airport: Porto, Marrakech, and Fez stay on the Summer 2026 timetable
Dole–Jura, around 50km southeast of Dijon, will keep its three Ryanair routes in Summer 2026 — Porto, Marrakech, and Fez — according to The Connexion, while Euro Weekly News likewise reports that all three remain on the summer timetable.
For a regional airport with limited scheduled service, this is a major difference-maker. The Connexion notes that in cases like Dole-Jura, Ryanair can be one of the few operators providing regular flights, making retained routes “vital” to the airport and local residents. The Connexion
The airport’s own 2026 destination list reinforces the picture
Dole Airport’s official site is already promoting “VOLS SÉJOURS 2026” and lists Porto, Marrakech, Fez among its destinations (along with Corsican routes). Dole Aéroport
Air Corsica adds a domestic anchor
Dole also benefits from a second airline presence. The Connexion reports Air Corsica will operate services to Bastia and Ajaccio, helping broaden the airport’s offering beyond Ryanair’s international leisure routes.
Why this matters: Ryanair’s “French cuts” are happening in a larger tax-and-cost squeeze
To understand why confirmations at Tours and Dole feel unusually newsworthy, you need the national context.
France’s TSBA ticket tax rose in 2025 — and it’s become a flashpoint
France’s government information service (Service-Public.fr) explains that the TSBA (taxe de solidarité sur les billets d’avion), sometimes called the “taxe Chirac,” was increased under the 2025 finance law, with higher amounts applying from 1 March 2025. Service Public
Service-Public.fr lists the updated scale, including:
- €7.40 for economy tickets to destinations in France/Europe
- €15 for “intermediate” destinations
- €40 for long-haul destinations
(with higher rates for business class and business aviation).
Whether airlines absorb these increases or pass them on varies — but for low-cost carriers, even small cost changes can make thin-margin routes unattractive.
Air France-KLM, for its part, publicly warned that a significant increase in the solidarity tax would create financial strain, including scenarios where airlines could owe uncollected tax on tickets already sold (depending on timing and implementation).
Experts: small airports are structurally vulnerable
A key thread running through coverage of Ryanair’s decisions is how dependent many smaller airports have become on a handful of low-cost carriers.
In The Connexion’s reporting on regional route cuts:
- Nicolas Paulissen, general delegate of the Union des Aéroports Français (UAF), argues that small airports are “largely dependent” on low-cost carriers and that the model can be fragile when route profitability is narrow. The Connexion
- François Delétraz, president of passenger federation Fnaut, warns that when routes disappear, travelers may have to accept longer drives to bigger airports.
- Aviation consultant Xavier Tytelman (Aviation NXT) adds that taxes are not the only variable — pointing to broader costs, including airport fees, and noting that French air transport has faced a slower recovery compared with pre-2019 levels.
The headline implication for Summer 2026: even airports that “survive” may still face reduced frequencies, narrower schedules, or shorter booking windows.
Ryanair is selling Summer 2026 hard — just not evenly across France
Interestingly, Ryanair’s confirmations in Tours and Dole arrive as the airline is aggressively marketing Summer 2026 capacity.
On 26 December 2025, Ryanair announced its “biggest ever seat sale,” advertising 10 million Summer 2026 seats across more than 235 destinations — a signal that the airline expects demand to be strong and wants early-booker cashflow. Ryanair Corporate
So why the contradiction — sales on one hand, cuts on the other?
The airline’s public stance across multiple markets has been consistent: where taxes and fees rise, capacity moves.
- Reuters reported in December 2025 that Ryanair planned to cut 1 million seats and 20 routes from its Brussels winter 2026/27 schedule in response to Belgian ticket-tax changes.
- Aviation Week reported Ryanair planned to cut capacity across regional Spain for Summer 2026 amid a dispute over airport charges, while also stating it would shift capacity to other markets.
France’s regional airports are feeling that same push-pull dynamic — which is why keeping even a small set of routes becomes news.
Morocco is a bright spot — and Tours/Dole are positioned to benefit
Another factor working in favor of Tours and Dole-Jura is that their “at-risk” routes overlap with a market Ryanair is actively expanding: Morocco.
On 17 December 2025, Ryanair announced the opening of a new base in Rabat from April 2026 as part of its record Summer 2026 Morocco schedule, describing major investment and broader growth across Moroccan airports.
That matters because both Tours and Dole-Jura rely heavily on Morocco leisure routes (Marrakech, and in Dole’s case Fez). If Ryanair is scaling up in Morocco overall, these routes may be strategically easier to defend than marginal European links competing against dozens of alternatives.
What travelers should do now if they’re planning Summer 2026
If you’re based near Tours, Dijon, or the Jura region and you’re trying to lock in Summer 2026 travel, here’s how to plan realistically in a fast-changing network:
- Check the airport timetables, not only airline marketing pages.
Tours Airport publishes seasonal schedules and flags that timings remain “subject to modifications,” which is exactly the kind of fine print travelers should assume in 2026 planning. Tours Aéroport - Book with flexibility in mind.
With route uncertainty still present nationally, prioritize fares that are easier to change (or at least understand the change/refund rules before buying). - Watch for frequency changes even if the route “survives.”
Local officials in Tours explicitly raised the possibility of losing flights (frequency) even if the route list stays intact. The Connexion - Have a Plan B airport.
Passenger advocates warn that in the absence of alternatives, travelers may need to drive to larger airports if routes disappear.
The bottom line
For now, Tours–Val de Loire and Dole–Jura have secured a foothold in Ryanair’s Summer 2026 map, preserving high-demand leisure links to Marseille, Porto, Marrakech, and Fez — a tangible win for travelers outside France’s major hubs.
But this isn’t a full end to uncertainty. With aviation taxes still politically and commercially contentious — and experts warning how exposed small airports are when one low-cost airline dominates capacity — the most accurate way to read these announcements is as a reprieve, not a guarantee.
