Spain is ridiculously popular with travellers – by 2040, it’s set to be the most visited country in the world, overtaking France – and in July this year, a record-breaking 11 million international visitors passed through.
However, Ryanair, an ultra-low cost Irish airline, has just announced that it’s axing one million seats to Spain. Specifically, 600,000 to the mainland and 400,000 to the Canary Islands, which means the cancellation of 36 direct routes, or around 50 percent of its total capacity to the country. Why is this happening – and where is going to be affected? Read on to find out.
What are the 3 airports being axed?
Ryanair is shutting its two-aircraft base in Santiago, as well as ceasing operations to Tenerife North and Vigo. However, those are far from the only hubs affected by the cull.
The operator’s base at Valladolid airport – closed since winter 2024 – will not reopen, nor will the one at Jerez. Then there’s all the hubs where capacity will be reduced: Zaragoza’s capacity will be slashed by 45 percent, Asturias’s by 16 percent and Vitoria’s by two percent.
When are the flights being axed for each location?
The changes at Santiago and Tenerife will be made from the start of the upcoming winter season, and operations will cease at Vigo on January 1, 2026.
Why is Ryanair cutting over 1 million seats?
Well, according to Ryanair DAC’s CEO Eddie Wilson, the operator blames the excessive and uncompetitive airport charges implemented by AENA, which is Spain’s airport operator.
‘The decision by AENA and its shareholders (including the Spanish Government) to increase already uncompetitive airport charges by 6.62 per cent next year is the latest evidence that the monopolistic airport operator has no interest in developing traffic at Spain’s regional airports, and simply wants to focus on making record profits from the country’s main airports,’ he said, according to euronews.
This comes at a time when Spain’s most popular destinations, including Barcelona, are struggling with the impact of overtourism.
‘These cuts will further harm Spain’s already vulnerable regional airports and will inevitably lead to a loss of investment, connectivity, tourism and employment in regional Spain, as many routes will become economically unviable,’ said Ryanair in a press release.
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