Ryanair has revealed intentions to reduce several of its flight routes following new tax impositions and additional charges.
The Irish carrier will curtail its summer 2025 operations in Spain by 18%, eliminating approximately 800,000 seats and discontinuing 12 routes.
The airline will terminate its services to Jerez and Valladolid, withdraw one aircraft from its base in Santiago, and cut flights at five other regional Spanish airports, including Vigo (by 61%), Santiago (28%), Zaragoza (20%), Asturias (11%), and Santander (5%).
Eddie Wilson, CEO of Ryanair, criticised the exorbitant airport fees and the absence of effective growth incentives, which he believes are stifling the development of Spain’s regional airports and leaving significant capacity underused.
In contrast, Aena, the leading global airport operator by passenger numbers, maintains that the average fee for airport services, set at €10.35 per passenger as of March 1, remains unchanged and ranks among the lowest in Europe.
Furthermore, Spain is not the sole country experiencing route reductions from Ryanair. The airline has also indicated capacity cuts in other popular destinations, including Italy, due to similar surcharges.
Ryanair will remove an aircraft from its Rome base at Fiumicino Airport for the summer of 2025, a move expected to limit growth during the city’s Jubilee year celebrations.
Austria is also facing challenges with Ryanair citing the country’s €12 air traffic tax and high airport and security fees as detrimental to its appeal as a tourist destination.
These factors allegedly hinder Austria’s competitiveness compared to other EU nations that are eliminating aviation taxes and lowering costs to promote tourism and traffic.
Additionally, Ryanair has ceased all operations to and from Aalborg following Denmark’s introduction of a new aviation tax, set at 50 DKK (£5.57) per departing passenger, a cost that airlines are required to cover.
