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Ryanair Cuts Flights from Lisbon, Affecting Routes to Morocco and France
Wednesday 9 March 2022, by
The airline Ryanair has decided to suspend 19 lines this summer in Lisbon, including two to France and two to Morocco. This decision is due to the refusal of the Portuguese government to distribute the "blocked" flight slots of TAP Air Portugal.
The Irish low-cost carrier is suspending its flights to Agadir and Oujda in Morocco (Fez and Marrakech are not affected) from Lisbon-Humberto Delgado airport, reports Air Journal. Out of 7 single-aisle Boeing aircraft, the company’s base in Lisbon will only host 4. Ryanair has also decided to suspend planned flights to Perpignan and Poitiers in France out of a total of 6 routes (Poitiers had been announced in early January), to five destinations in Spain (Alicante, Lanzarote, Madrid, Zaragoza and Tenerife South), three in Italy (Alghero, Bari and Palermo), two in the UK (Birmingham and Bournemouth), two in Germany (Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden and Memmingen), as well as the airports of Billund, Krakow and Malta.
Ryanair says all passengers affected by these cancellations will receive email notifications "by the end of this week, with the possibility of refunds or alternative flights to/from Lisbon for summer 2022." Ryanair Holdings CEO Michael O’Leary said "we regret this unnecessary inconvenience for all passengers on these cancelled flights, and the loss of 19 routes due to the blocking of unused slots by TAP at Lisbon in summer 2022. This anti-competitive slot blocking is hampering growth and delaying the recovery of traffic, tourism and jobs at Lisbon." "Our latest efforts to seek help from Prime Minister António Costa have resulted in a total of 0 response," he added.
The company is not giving up. It says it is "determined" that the 3 aircraft and 19 routes "will return to Lisbon in October 2022," as it has "sufficient slots in winter" for these flights.