Popular budget airliner Ryanair are planning to slash its number of flights in Spain after a major change was announced by the country’s state-controlled airport operator, Aena.
This rollback will affect around one million seats this winter and have a massive impact on British travellers coming to and from the popular holiday destination.
Services will reportedly be reduced on September 3 and are being introduced in response to increased fees from Aena.
Budget airliner Ryanair scraps flights to Spain, affecting one million seats this winter
According to The Sun, the operator charges airlines a fee for using its airports as well as services like the use of terminals, runways, security, aircraft and baggage handling.
This latest increase, which is reportedly set to partially fund the expansion of Aena’s main airports in Madrid and Barcelona, is set to be 6.5 per cent next year.
El País reported that “prices paid by airlines to use Aena airports will experience their largest increase in recent years in 2026”.
It added that the fee increase in Spain means a 68-cent (£0.59) increase per passenger.
This cutback by Ryanair comes after the airline cancelled 800,000 seats across 12 routes, impacting both domestic Spanish routes and international flights.
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This affected the likes of Vigo, Santiago de Compostela, Zaragoza, Santander and Asturias.
At the time, the budget airliner blamed “excessive fees” at airports across Spain.
Ryanair DAC CEO Eddie Wilson, said: “Aena’s excessive airport charges and lack of viable incentives for growth continue to harm Spain’s regional airports, limiting their growth and leaving huge areas of airport capacity unused.”
