Ryanair reduces flights in Spain: affected airports and routes, alternatives, and reasons for the cuts
Ryanair has dealt another severe blow to Spain's airports. The low-cost airline has announced it will eliminate one million seats for this winter season. This cut affects the country's secondary airports , drastically reducing their capacity and even canceling all flights in some cases.
Which airports and flights are affected?Ryanair's announcement affects several regional airports in the country. In the case of Santiago, it will close its base , which currently operates with two aircraft. Also in Galicia, it will suspend all flights to Vigo Airport starting January 1st. Until now, the airline only operated the Vigo-London route, after eliminating the Vigo-Barcelona route last March.
On the other hand, it will reduce seats by 45% at Zaragoza Airport, which the Irish airline connects with Brussels, Santiago, London, Marrakech, Milan, Palma, Paris, and Fez, eliminating the last three connections from its catalog . As for Santander Airport, it will reduce capacity by 38%. There, Ryanair operates routes to Birmingham, Bologna, Brussels, Dublin, Edinburgh, London, Malaga, Manchester, Marrakech, Valencia, Venice, Milan, Rome, Paris, and Vienna, now eliminating the last four.
Meanwhile, they have also reduced seats by 16% at Asturias Airport, which serves Brussels, Düsseldorf, and Rome, and by 2% at Vitoria Airport, which serves Alicante, Brussels, Malaga, Milan, Palma, and Seville. Finally, Ryanair's cuts also affect the Canary Islands , reducing its seat offering in the archipelago by 10% and canceling 36 connections with the peninsula. The most affected is Tenerife North Airport, where it will cancel all its flights from October, which until now connected the island with Alicante, Barcelona, Madrid, Palma, Seville, and Valencia.
It's also worth remembering that the Dublin-based airline already eliminated all flights from the airports of Valladolid and Jerez last March.
When do these cuts come into effect?According to Ryanair, the elimination of seats will take effect during this winter season , which begins at the end of October and runs until the end of March.
What alternatives are there for canceled flights?- Vigo - London : Ryanair's route was the only direct flight between these two airports, so we'll have to opt for flights with a stopover in Madrid or Barcelona.
- Zaragoza - Palma : Vueling and Iberia offer direct flights to the Balearic capital.
- Zaragoza - Paris : Ryanair's flight was the only direct flight to the French capital, so we'll have to take a connecting flight to Palma de Mallorca or take a train to Madrid or Barcelona first.
- Zaragoza - Fez : Ryanair's route was the only direct route to the Moroccan city, leaving flights with at least two stopovers as the only option, although we can also take a train to Malaga and catch a direct flight from there.
- Santander - Milan : Ryanair's route to the Italian city was the only direct one, so we'll have to stop in Barcelona or Madrid.
- Santander - Rome : Since Ryanair's flight was the only direct flight to the Italian capital, we'll have to stop over in Barcelona.
- Santander - Paris : Ryanair's flight was the only direct flight to the French capital, so we'll have to opt for flights with a stopover in Barcelona or Madrid.
- Santander - Vienna : Ryanair's route was the only direct flight to the Austrian capital, so we'll have to stop in cities like Madrid, Barcelona, London, Rome, Brussels, and Bergamo.
- Tenerife North - Alicante : Vueling and Iberia offer direct flights to Alicante.
- Tenerife North - Barcelona : Vueling and Iberia have direct flights to the Catalan capital.
- Tenerife North - Madrid : Iberia, Air Europa, Binter and Vueling have flights to the country's capital.
- Tenerife North - Palma : Binter offers direct flights to the Balearic capital.
- Tenerife North - Seville : Vueling and Seville have direct flights to the Andalusian capital.
- Tenerife North - Valencia : Iberia, Binter and Vueling offer flights to the Valencian capital.
Behind Ryanair's seat cuts and flight eliminations are the airport tax increases announced a few weeks ago by Aena, the company that manages Spain's airports, something the airline has described as "excessive." It also complained about the lack of competitiveness of the country's regional airports. "We cannot justify continued investment in airports whose growth is being stymied by excessive and uncompetitive fees ," Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson said at a press conference on Wednesday.
Wilson also explained that he will move the planes he has withdrawn from Spain to other airports in his network, specifically to Italy, Morocco, Croatia, Sweden, and Hungary . "It's surprising that, despite contributing 28 billion euros to the Spanish economy and bringing in one in three tourists, there is no willingness to collaborate to stimulate traffic in areas that need capacity , connectivity, and investment," he concluded.
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