RYANAIR is once again cutting flights to and from regional airports in Spain.
The budget airline is planning on scrapping around one million seats during this winter, impacting British holidaymakers heading to and from the country.
Ryanair is planning to scrap even more flights to and from Spain[/caption]
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Ryanair is set to make a full announcement of which services will be reduced on September 3 in response to Aena – the state-controlled airport operator in the country – increasing its fees for airlines.
Aena charges airlines a fee for using its airports and services including the use of terminals, runways, security, aircraft and baggage handling.
The latest increase means that fees for airlines will rise by 6.5 per cent next year.
The additional cost for airlines is set to partially fund expansion of Aena’s main airports – Madrid and Barcelona.
However, the fee increase is bad news for British holidaymakers as this cost for airlines is usually offset by raising flight prices.
Last month, El País reported that “prices paid by airlines to use Aena airports will experience their largest increase in recent years in 2026”.
The publication added that the increase fee means a 68 cent (£0.59) increase per passenger, with the new fares expected to be introduced on March 1, 2026.
Ryanair’s planned cuts are the latest in a string of services being reduced into and out of Spain.
In January, the airline cancelled 800,000 seats across 12 routes, noting that both domestic Spanish routes and international flights would be impacted.
Airports including Vigo, Santiago de Compostela, Zaragoza, Santander and Asturias, all experienced reduced operations.
And all flights in both Jerez and Valladolid were scrapped.
At the time, the airline blamed “excessive fees” at airports in 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.”
In April, the airline announced that further cuts could be made to Spanish airports next year, warning that it will stop routes next winter if Aena did not lower its fees.
Aena’s fees were increased by 4.09 per cent last year, as a result of inflation.
The airline will make a full announcement of the routes impacted on September 3[/caption]
At the start of August, the airline also ditched flights to three destinations in France as a result of an “astronomical” rise in air tax by the French government.
In a statement, Ryanair said: “In response to this government tax, Ryanair will cease operations to Bergerac, Brive, and Strasbourg, and reduce capacity at several other French airports.”
The airline currently operates two flights a week to Brive from London Stansted, but these will cease entirely after October 24.
The decision to withdraw services from Bergerac could also threaten the airport’s future, as Ryanair is the main airline serving the airport.
At the beginning of March, the airline also scrapped its route from London Stansted to Aalborg, in Denmark.
Advice for flying with Ryanair
- All Ryanair passengers can bring a small personal bag on board but this must fit under the seat in front of you, but it must be no bigger than 40cm x 20cm x 25cm
- Any over-sized cabin bags will be refused at the boarding gate and put in the hold for a fee
- Ryanair also charges passengers up to £55 check-in at the airport
- Anyone who loses their card at the airport will have to pay a £20 reissue fee
- Book to sit in the front five rows if you want to head off the plane first
- Extra legroom seats can be found in rows 1 A, B, C or 2 D, E, F as well as row 16 and 17 near the emergency exit
- The worst seat on Ryanair’s Boeing 737-800 aircraft is also 11A because of its lack of window.
Ryanair’s CEO also recently announced that the airline will be increasing staff bonuses for catching passengers with oversized bags.
Plus, earlier this month the operator opened a new airport base that’s the gateway to the ‘Maldives of Europe’.
The cuts are due to Spain’s operator increasing fees for airlines[/caption]