RYANAIR has warned of a “tourism disaster” for Spain as it slashes flights from regional airports and diverts capacity to rival destinations such as Italy, Morocco, Croatia, Albania, Hungary and Sweden.
The Irish airline said it will cut two million seats across Spain in 2025, including one million this winter alone.
The reductions follow a row with airport operator Aena over a planned 6.5% rise in fees next year, the steepest increase in more than a decade.
READ MORE: Ryanair pulls out of two airports and withdraws one million seats due to tax dispute in Spain
The cuts will hit Spain’s smaller airports hardest. Ryanair will withdraw its two aircraft from Santiago de Compostela, suspend all flights to Vigo from January, and end services at Tenerife North.
Other bases already closed, including Valladolid and Jerez, will remain shut through the winter.
The airline will also reduce operations at Zaragoza by 45%, Santander by 38%, Asturias by 16%, and Vitoria by 2%. In the Canary Islands, 19 direct connections will be lost, with 400,000 seats removed.
Chief executive Eddie Wilson said the decision will damage local economies.
He warned that many regional routes will become “economically unviable,” leading to lost investment, connectivity, tourism and jobs.
Ryanair argues that Aena’s charges are “excessive and uncompetitive” and claims its proposals to expand in regional airports have been ignored.
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Wilson said the company had been willing to base 33 additional aircraft in Spain, invest €2.3 billion, and open new bases in Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Menorca and Santander.
The plan, which Ryanair says would have carried 87 million passengers and created 1,000 jobs, was conditional on a freeze in airport fees.
Instead, the airline says Spain risks losing traffic to competitors.
“Regional Spain is being closed off to tourism,” Wilson said, accusing the government of failing to make use of under-capacity airports.
READ MORE: Ryanair doubles down on threat to slash 1 million seats in Spain over ‘excessive’ airport fees
Union leaders have also criticised the airline’s tactics.
The UGT workers’ union secretary general, Pepe Álvarez, accused Ryanair of “permanent blackmail” against Spain and insisted the routes cut by the carrier will eventually be replaced.
For now, Ryanair insists it cannot justify continued investment in Spain’s regional airports while rivals in Europe cut their fees to attract traffic.
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Ryanair’s diversion of flights to other countries leaves a gaping opportunity for others to fill the void. Ryanair will surely be on those companies’ Christmas
Lists!
There will be many in the ” anti tourism” brigade who will thank Ryanair!
And yes, while some of those routes may not be profitable for Ryanair, other similar airlines might be very interested in filling the gap.