Ryanair Blames Aena for Route Reductions at Spanish Regional Airports
Ryanair announced it will eliminate 12 routes in Spain during summer 2025, citing “excessive fees” by Aena as the reason. The decision affects regional airports, cutting 800,000 seats, while Aena defends its pricing as “among the lowest in Europe.” The move has sparked tensions between the airline and the airport operator
This Thursday, the ultra low-cost Ryanair announced that it will eliminate 12 routes in Spain during the summer 2025 schedule, resulting in 800,000 fewer seats. The airline attributes this decision to what it describes as the “excessive fees” imposed by the "Aena monopoly," which allegedly hinder traffic development at regional airports.
According to Ryanair, many regional airports in Spain have the “necessary infrastructure and safety” but lack an “adequate pricing structure.”
The newspaper La Región reports that Ryanair will stop operating routes to Cádiz and Valladolid, remove one aircraft based in Santiago de Compostela, and reduce traffic in Vigo (-61%), Santiago (-28%), Zaragoza (-20%), Asturias (-11%), and Santander (-5%).
In response, Aena stated that “the arguments put forward by the Irish airline Ryanair to justify its route adjustments at Spanish airports are a carbon copy of its business strategy across Europe.”
Aena emphasized that the average fee for airport services will remain frozen at 10.35 euros per passenger starting March 1, describing it as “one of the lowest in Europe.” They further noted that this allowed Ryanair to increase its activity at Spanish airports by 8.7%, transporting 66 million passengers last year.
According to Aena, the current seat offering in Spain is expected to grow, despite Ryanair's reductions. They also highlighted commercial incentives at regional airports that reduce airport charges to 2 euros per passenger, available to all airlines. However, they pointed out that in larger cities with higher tourist traffic, Ryanair will pay higher fees.
“Ryanair's constant, discourteous demands regarding Aena's airport fees could violate Law 18/2014, potentially making them illegal,” Aena warned, adding that they could also be considered State aid by the European Union.
“Aena regrets that Ryanair uses spurious arguments, unrelated to Spain's actual airport fees, to mislead citizens and blatantly pressure public institutions,” they concluded.
Ryanair's Network in Spain
In January, Ryanair operates at numerous Spanish airports, including Asturias, Lanzarote, Málaga, Alicante, Barcelona, Castellón, Corvera, Fuerteventura, Girona, Ibiza, Gran Canaria, Madrid, Palma de Mallorca, Santiago de Compostela, Santander, Seville, Tenerife North, Tenerife South, Valencia, Valladolid, Vigo, Vitoria, Jerez de la Frontera, and Zaragoza.
AUTOR
Contando la aviación desde marzo del año 2000. Fundador y Managing Editor de Aviacionline.
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