Ryanair issues 'regretful' warning to UK tourists heading to Spain
Ryanair has issued a warning to any UK passengers flying to Spain. Ryanair has announced that it is scaling back its flight services in Spain by around 800,000 seats this summer citing “excessive fees” from airports in the European Union holiday hotspot.
Ryanair, which flires from Birmingham, said on Thursday (January 16) that it plans to reduce its traffic in the country by 18 per cent. Ryanair, a low-cost carrier based in Ireland, said this equates to around 12 routes after complaining of Spain’s airport operator Aena’s charges and lack of incentives for growth.
Ryanair claims that Aena has attempted to increase charges every year despite this, especially at Spanish regional airports. The airline - which is rivalled by Jet2, Easyjet, TUI and more - said it would cease operations at Jerez airport in southern Spain and Valladolid airport further north and remove one aircraft based in Santiago.
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Ryanair is also planning to reduce its traffic by summer 2025 at five regional airports. It will reduce at Vigo by 61 per cent, Santiago at 28 per cent, Zaragoza at 20 per cent, Asturias at 11 per cent and Santander at five per cent, it has said.
Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson said: “However, Aena persists with unjustified rate increases and refuses to implement effective incentive systems to support Spain’s regional growth, prioritising foreign investment in airports in the Caribbean, the UK and America."
Mr Wilson added that Ryanair has been “forced” to relocate aircraft. Aena added it “regrets that Ryanair is resorting to spurious arguments that do not match the reality of airport charges in Spain, in order to mislead citizens and blatantly put pressure on national and regional public institutions.”
It comes as UK tourists begin to book holidays for spring and summer 2025 now Christmas is out of the way.