Ryanair Slashes Spanish Routes, Shifts Focus to Morocco and Italy Amid Airport Tax Hike

Ryanair plans to remove nearly one million seats from Spanish airports starting this winter, or two million per year. This summer, the Irish low-cost airline has reduced nearly 800,000, according to El Debate. "This is the latest proof that the airport operator has no interest in developing traffic at Spanish regional airports, and simply wants to focus on achieving record profits at the country’s main airports," said Eddie Wilson, CEO of Ryanair, at a press conference on Wednesday.

By doing so, Ryanair is reducing its capacity in Spanish regional airports by 41% and by 10% in the Canary Islands. The company has also closed its base in Santiago and announced the suspension of all flights to Vigo from January 1, 2026 and to Tenerife Norte from the winter season 2025. The Irish low-cost airline has also removed 36 direct routes to regional Spain and the Canary Islands, reducing its capacity in four other regional airports, namely: Zaragoza, Santander, Asturias and Vitoria. In total, Ryanair will cancel 36 direct routes to Spain and the Canary Islands, or two million seats that will be diverted to new destinations such as Morocco, Italy, Croatia and Albania, where access costs are lower, boosting tourism and employment.

"It is surprising that, despite the fact that one in three tourists arrives on Ryanair flights, there is no willingness to collaborate to stimulate traffic in areas that need capacity, connectivity and investment," lamented the CEO of Ryanair, who assured that the company will allocate its 300 new aircraft to more competitive airports due to the increase in taxes by Aena. For its part, Aena rejects the reasons put forward by the company to justify its decision, stating that "Ryanair’s true interest is not the well-being of citizens, but "to make more money, even if it means dipping into the pockets of Spanish taxpayers".