Alex Trelinski
RYANAIR has threatened to cut more services to smaller regional airports in Spain in its ongoing row over charges for using them.
The warning has come from the carrier’s CEO Eddie Wilson in an interview with the El Economista newspaper.
The company announced in January it was closing operations in Jerez and Valladolid as well as cutting services to and from Santiago de Compostela, Asturias, Cantabria and Zaragoza.
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Further reductions could start with the 2026 winter schedule which kicks in at the end of October coupled with next year’s high season flights.
Eddie Wilson said: “Regions need low fees to stimulate growth, and they must be accompanied by low costs, because otherwise the formula does not work.”
“We cancelled 800,000 seats this summer because we had better options to allocate that capacity to other locations in Europe, “ he added.
At the same time, Ryanair increased its schedule to bigger airports including Alicante-Elche, Madrid, and Malaga- adding 1.5 million extra seats.
“Regional airports are 70% underutilised, so something is not working,” Wilson told El Economista.
Either people don’t want to go to the regions, or airlines don’t want to put planes there, but there is a problem, and Spain must solve it,” he stated.
In an attack on airport operator Aena, Wilson branded it as a ‘monopoly.
“We are not asking for subsidies or special treatment for Ryanair, only a growth model that reduces the average cost with competitive airport charges for all airlines”.
Ever since January’s announcement of flight cuts, Aena has publicly stated that it wants to talk with Ryanair, but Wilson has a different take.
“They are not interested. We have been commenting on this issue for years and they only announce incentive plans that are not working. They are a monopoly and try to maintain control without having to change anything.”
“They say that it is regulated by law, but if something in needs to be done, the government can intervene and change it,” says Wilson, who made it clear that he is happy to negotiate a deal that satisfies everybody.
