Ryanair Cancels Madrid and Barcelona Flights to Fuerteventura This Winter

The low‑cost carrier will only operate from November onward to one Spanish city, Seville, and will drop three UK routes. A dispute between Aena and Ryanair has led the airline to completely abandon Tenerife North, cutting 400,000 seats for the Canary Islands.

Reduction of routes

Fuerteventura will see its direct Ryanair network shrink from 29 routes this winter to just 23 from October, losing key connections to major Spanish airports such as Barcelona and Madrid.

Of the four regular flights that linked Fuerteventura with the peninsula this year—Barcelona, Madrid, Santiago and Seville—only Seville remains listed on Ryanair’s website for the November‑February period. Internationally, three UK connections (Liverpool, Bournemouth and Luton) have also disappeared from the schedule.

For the Canary Islands, Ryanair estimates that it will forfeit 400,000 seats this winter, roughly 10 % of its total capacity, and will close Tenerife North completely.

The airline announced a controversial cut of one million seats at Spanish regional airports for the winter season, abandoning Vigo, Valladolid, Jerez and Tenerife North, and shutting down its base at Santiago de Compostela. Aena downplayed the move and accused Ryanair of “extortion.”

Asofuer: “It’s a business and strategic clash”

“In fact, Ryanair will not reduce its overall presence in Spain; it has announced increased operations at airports with higher fees for this winter, such as Madrid‑Barajas, Málaga (+6 %) and Barcelona‑El Prat (+5 %).”

“The airline’s strategy is to optimise its fleet and profitability, focusing on routes and bases that deliver higher economic margins and dropping less profitable connections, especially in peripheral island markets. It’s a business and strategic clash, and the messaging sometimes does not reflect the full reality.”

23 Ryanair routes still active with the UK, Italy, Germany and Ireland

Despite losing six connections to Fuerteventura, Ryanair will maintain 23 direct flights between November 2025 and February 2026 to airports in the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Spain, Ireland, Austria and Belgium. The destinations are:

• Spain: Seville
• United Kingdom: Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds‑Bradford, London Stansted (replacing Luton), Newcastle, Edinburgh, Manchester
• Ireland: Dublin, Cork, Shannon
• Italy: Rome Fiumicino, Milan Bergamo, Milan Malpensa, Bologna, Pisa
• Belgium: Brussels Charleroi
• Germany: Cologne, Berlin Brandenburg, Düsseldorf Weeze
• Austria: Vienna
• Poland: Krakow

Ticket prices have risen sharply. In October, the cheapest fares were €15 one‑way on domestic routes (Madrid, Barcelona, Seville) and €30‑40 to major European cities. In winter, prices climb to €70‑100 one‑way from Ireland, Germany or Poland.

Political conflict between Ryanair and Aena as backdrop

Ryanair links its cuts to a 6.62 % increase in Aena airport fees planned for 2025. In a press release, the airline warned of a “tourism catastrophe” and claimed it would divert two million seats annually from Spain to alternative destinations such as Italy, Morocco or Croatia.

Aena responded by accusing Ryanair of extortion:

“If Spanish airports were to follow Ryanair’s demands, the whining, deception, and unsustainable extortion strategy would cause airports to cease functioning properly in the medium‑ and long‑term, making them financially untenable.”

Aena’s Deputy President, Mauricio Lucena, noted that regional airports receive a modest €2 per passenger surcharge compared with 2023, describing it as “undeniable proof” of Aena’s and the Spanish government’s effort. He refuted Ryanair’s claim that routes are dropped because of high fees, stating instead that the airline moves its aircraft to airports where it can charge higher ticket prices and increase revenue, citing major Spanish airports with higher airport fees as examples.

---

Fuerteventura Digital attempted to verify the cancellation of the six Ryanair flights with Aena and other industry sources but had not received a response at the time of publication.