Ryanair cuts 400,000 seats across Spain and the Canary Islands, quits Tenerife North
Overview
Ryanair will eliminate 36 connections between the Spanish mainland and the Canary Islands this winter, resulting in the loss of 400,000 seats on routes linking the islands to the rest of Spain. The airline will also cease operations at Tenerife North Airport. In the Canaries, the low‑cost carrier will cancel 19 direct connections between the mainland and the archipelago, affecting flights from Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote in addition to the closure of Tenerife North.
The airline announced a 16 % reduction in the seats it will offer in Spain for the winter season compared with the previous year, along with the closure of its base in Santiago de Compostela and the suspension of flights to Vigo and Tenerife North from 1 January.
The reduced seat offering translates into the loss of more than one million seats, which, together with the 800,000 seats Ryanair eliminated during the summer season, brings the total cut for 2025 to two million seats.
Ryanair’s response
“We will redirect those two million seats to Italy, Morocco, Croatia, Albania, Hungary or Sweden, which will be a tourism catastrophe for regional Spain,” said Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson in a press conference.
Despite the cuts, the airline says it will expand at larger Spanish airports, although it has not yet detailed how this growth will offset the reductions at regional airports.
Spanish airport fees “excessive and uncompetitive”
Ryanair plans to reduce its capacity by 41 % at regional airports (600,000 seats) and 10 % in the Canary Islands (400,000 seats), losing a total of 36 routes. The airline blames the airport fees imposed by Aena, describing them as “excessive and uncompetitive.”
Wilson added that Aena’s recent decision to raise fees by 6.62 % next year— the highest increase in more than a decade—contrasts with the monopoly operator’s record profits this year.
Consequences include:
- Closure of Ryanair’s base of two aircraft in Santiago, resulting in the loss of seven routes and a $200 million (over €170 million) investment for Galicia.
- Suspension of all flights to Vigo from 1 January (two routes lost) and to Tenerife North from the start of winter 2025, joining airports already closed in the summer (Valladolid and Jerez) that will remain shut this winter.
- Capacity reductions at four other regional airports:
- Zaragoza – 45 % cut (3 routes)
- Santander – 38 % cut (4 routes)
- Asturias – 16 % cut (1 route)
- Vitoria – 2 % cut (this winter)
During the summer, Ryanair ceased operations in Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz) and Valladolid and reduced its service in Vigo by 61 %, Santiago (‑28 %), Zaragoza (‑20 %), Asturias (‑11 %) and Santander (‑5 %).
Ryanair holds Aena responsible
Wilson emphasized that Ryanair remains committed to growing in Spanish regions but is blocked by Aena’s “excessive” fees and its refusal to cooperate with airlines to support secondary airports that have available capacity.
He noted that Ryanair has submitted several growth plans for regional airports—currently 64 % empty, a figure expected to rise to 80 % after the airline’s adjustments—but has received no response from the government.
While airport fees are rising in Spain, Wilson pointed out that countries such as Italy, Morocco, Croatia, Albania, Hungary and Sweden are lowering access costs, especially at their regional airports, to boost traffic, tourism, and employment.
Ryanair contributes over €28 billion to Spain’s GDP (1.8 %) and invests more than €10 billion in its Spanish operations.
“It is surprising that, despite contributing €28 billion to the Spanish economy and 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,” Wilson said.
He called on the CNMC and the Spanish government to reject the excessive fee hikes and to extend the freeze on airport charges to protect regional connectivity, tourism, and employment.
Madrid, 3 September (EFE).