Ryanair has followed through on its threat from last week and will withdraw one million seats from its winter schedule in Spain, cutting 36 direct routes that connect regional airports on the mainland and in the Canary Islands.
The airline attributes the cancellations to what it calls the ‘excessive’ charges imposed by airport operator Aena and claims the fees make these airports uncompetitive.
As a result, two million seats annually will be redirected to destinations in Italy, Morocco, Croatia and Albania. ALSO READ: Ryanair could cut nearly a million seats on flights to and from Spain this winter.
‘Ryanair remains committed to Spain, but we cannot justify continued investment in airports whose growth is blocked by excessive and uncompetitive fees,’ said Eddie Wilson, CEO of the Irish carrier, on Wednesday.
The adjustments will particularly affect smaller airports handling under three million passengers a year, where Ryanair’s seat capacity will shrink by 41% (around 600,000 seats).
Among the most affected are Santiago de Compostela (Galicia), where the airline will close its two-aircraft base – an investment of $200 million lost – Vigo (Galicia), where all flights will cease from 1 January, Zaragoza (Aragón), down 45%, Santander (Cantabria), down 38%, Asturias (down 16%) and Vitoria-Gasteiz (Basque Country), down 2%.
The company will also maintain its suspension of services from Valladolid (Castilla y León) and Jerez (Andalusia) through the winter. In the Canary Islands, it will cut capacity by 10% (about 400,000 seats), scrapping 36 mainland connections and halting all flights to Tenerife North from 1 October.
In addition to the exit from Tenerife North, the airline is also reducing capacity at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. ALSO READ: Ryanair issues ‘league of delays’ table, warning Spain passengers to expect more this summer.
Ryanair intends to take its complaint about Aena’s planned 6.5% fee increase – bringing passenger charges to €11.03 by 2026 – to Spain’s National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC). The airline argues that Aena has little interest in encouraging traffic at smaller airports, preferring instead to ‘obtain record profits from the main Spanish airports’.
Wilson criticised both Aena and the Spanish government, its majority shareholder, saying they ‘have failed the Spanish regions, whose airports are almost 70% empty’.
By contrast, he said, countries such as Italy, Morocco, Croatia, Albania, Hungary and Sweden are reducing access costs at regional airports ‘to boost traffic, tourism and employment, which makes Spanish regions hopelessly uncompetitive’.
The airline stresses its contribution to Spain’s economy, estimating an impact of more than €28 billion on GDP, investments exceeding €10 billion in local operations, and a workforce of over 10,000 pilots, cabin crew and engineers.
‘Ryanair remains committed to growth in the Spanish regions, but this growth is blocked by Aena’s excessive fees and its refusal to work with airlines to support regional airports with available capacity,’ Wilson said. ALSO READ: Spanish court temporarily suspends huge Ryanair ‘abusive practices’ fine.
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‼️España sufre una CATÁSTROFE TURÍSTICA por el aumento de los precios de Aena
— Ryanair España (@Ryanair_ES) September 3, 2025
👉 Ryanair reduce este invierno un 16% su capacidad en los aeropuertos regionales
Los aeropuertos están vacíos en un 70% mientras Aena y el gobierno miran para otro lado 🤨
Aena y el Gobierno de… pic.twitter.com/b2uDXsJbWh
ÚLTIMA HORA 🔴
— RTVE Noticias (@rtvenoticias) September 3, 2025
Ryanair anuncia el cierre de cuatro bases en España y reduce en un 41% su capacidad en aeropuertos españoles en respuesta a la subida de tasas de Aena.
La aerolínea ‘low cost’ se lleva un millón de plazas a Italia y Marruecos https://t.co/hD2Ulio172 pic.twitter.com/G7AoDVBZH5
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