European discount air carriers Ryanair and Norwegian are each opening a new base of operations. Ryanair has announced it will open the airlines 79th base on November 1 in Nuremberg, Germany. The base will begin operations with1 Boeing 7378-800 aircraft. Norwegian Air Shuttle also announced it will open the airlines 15th base in Europe at the Rome Fiumicino Airport on March 27. The new Rome base will operate flights to Bergen, Norway; Copenhagen, Denmark; Gothenburg, Sweden; Helsinki, Finland; London, England (Gatwick Airport); Oslo, Norway; and Stockholm, Sweden.
Ryanair has also announced it will close two bases in Italy at Alghero and Pescara, and drop service to Crotone, over an increase in Italy’s municipal tax rate. On January 1, the tax rate increased from €6.50 ($7.30) to €9 ($10.00) per passenger. Ryanair will also cut frequencies and routes to other Italian destinations, and add capacity at Rome and Milan. The airline has stated that the tax hike will damage the Italian tourism industry.