MAJOR budget airline Ryanair could be returning to a European airport that it recently axed flights to after 20 years.

Ryanair recently scrapped all of itswinter flights to Bergerac Dordogne Périgord Airport in France following rising airline taxes in the country.

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The small town in the southwest of France is known for its historic charm, with an old town full of half-timbered buildings.

Ryanair made the announcement back in June, where it also scrapped winter flights to other French destinations including Brive and Strasbourg.

Since the announcement, the president of the Dordogne Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), who represent the airport, has shared with The Connexion that the airline is likely to return to the airport in summer 2026.

Following the news, French media began to speculate that it could result in the closing of Bergerac Airport.

President of the CCI, Christophe Fauvel, told the publication that this could not be the case.

He explained: “We have to understand that Ryanair only announced the suspension of its London Stansted service during the winter months.

“Our traffic is very seasonal, with the majority of our passengers flying between April and October.”

He added that the route’s winter suspension would only impact around 18,000 passengers and that the airport is planning to carry out works on the runway between January and February at the airport anyway.

He then confirmed that “at the present moment, everything suggests that Ryanair will be at Bergerac for the summer of 2026″.

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The president continued to explain how it is the economic sector that is concerned about the airport’s future, particularly because Bergerac Airport generates between €60million (£51.8million) and €100million (£86.3million) each year for the region.

As a consequence, if the airport was forced to close, some of the surrounding areas such as Dordogne, south of Gironde, some of Lot-et-Garonne and also Lot, would be impacted.

In addition, the French region has a long-standing relationship with the UK, with many Brits choosing to live in the area as well as having direct flights since 2003.

The president assured that he is confident this key link will continue in the future, despite Ryanair cancelling winter flights.

In regard to other airlines, a few have eyed up creating a route between the UK and the French region including Vueling and Volotea.

Ryanair currently runs flights from several UK airports to Bergerac, including Bournemouth, Bristol, East Midlands, Liverpool, Edinburgh and London Stansted.

British Airways also operates flights to the airport from London City and Southampton and Jet2 has flights from Leeds Bradford Airport and Manchester.

These airlines dominate routes to and from the airport, with the only other routes coming from Rotterdam with airline Transavia and Brussels Charleroi with Ryanair.

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Bergerac is a pretty town to explore, including the Musée de Tabac, which tells the history of tobacco and a popular spot that shows the region’s wines – Maison des Vins.

Narrow cobbled streets and a bustling main square make the town the ideal spot for a quieter French holiday in comparison to popular city spots like Paris.

And there are a number of river cruises in the region too, down the Dordogne river.

The town is also around an hour and 20 minutes from Bordeaux and two and half hours from Toulouse.

Sun Travel has contacted Ryanair for comment.

There is also a little-known French town that’s been likened to Cornwall with riverfront cottages and new UK flights.

Plus, there is a French town that looks more like Italy – with Roman buildings and huge music festival.

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