Ryanair has announced it will cut over one million seats from its Spanish network after withdrawing operations from five airports across the country, marking one of the most significant capacity reductions the budget carrier has made in a single market in recent years. The move comes amid escalating disputes over airport charges and tourism taxes that Ryanair says make operating at these locations commercially unviable.
The Irish low-cost airline, which operates one of Europe's largest fleets of Boeing 737-800 aircraft, confirmed it is pulling out of Ibiza, Girona, Jerez, Reus, and Valladolid airports. Together, these routes accounted for more than one million seats per year, connecting Spanish regional destinations to key European markets. Ryanair has been vocal in its criticism of rising airport fees imposed by Spanish airport operator AENA, arguing that the cost increases are unsustainable for low-fare carriers.
Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary has repeatedly warned that Spain risks losing significant tourist traffic if regional airports continue to increase charges without offering corresponding growth incentives. The airline contends that budget carriers are the primary drivers of inbound tourism to many of these secondary Spanish cities, and that pricing them out of the market will ultimately damage local economies dependent on visitor spending.
The capacity withdrawal is expected to take effect for the upcoming scheduling period, leaving passengers who rely on these routes to seek alternative connections, often through larger hub airports. Ryanair says it remains open to returning to these airports if charges are brought back to competitive levels, and continues to operate an extensive wider Spanish network. The situation highlights growing tensions across European aviation between low-cost carriers and airport operators over the pace and scale of fee increases.
Compiled from publicly available aviation news sources. Featured image: AI-generated by AviationShop. This article is original editorial content; facts have been verified across multiple public sources.
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