Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on January 16, 2025
MADRID (Reuters) - Irish budget airline Ryanair said on Thursday it would cut flights at seven regional airports in Spain this summer due to what it called "excessive fees" levied by state-controlled airport operator Aena.
The airline will stop operating in the cities of Jerez and Valladolid and will reduce the number of flights to and from Vigo, Santiago de Compostela, Zaragoza, Santander and the airport of Asturias.
Overall, it will reduce capacity on 12 routes by 18% and cancel some 800,000 passenger seats compared with the previous summer, the carrier added in a statement.
The airline, the largest in Spain in terms of passengers, said it would redeploy its aircraft and capacity in countries such as Italy, Sweden, Croatia, Hungary and Morocco, "where governments encourage growth," it said.
Ryanair has been complaining for several years about the airport fees charged by Aena, despite a freeze during the COVID-19 pandemic and a December decision by the competition watchdog to block an increase planned in 2025.
More than 309 million passengers travelled through Aena's Spanish airports in 2024, an all-time high, as the country attracted a record number of foreign tourists.
Spanish authorities expect the tourism boom to continue this year.
(Reporting by Inti Landauro. Writing by David Latona. Editing by Andrei Khalip and Mark Potter)
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