Ryanair decided to completely stop or decrease operations in seven Spain holiday destinations after a spat with Spanish airline operator, Aena – here, we take a look at where you can fly to
Spain is a hugely popular holiday destination thanks to its sun, sea and some seriously cheap booze – it’s the holy trio for Brits looking for a getaway.
But, with anti-tourist protests flooding hotspots and the Spanish government cracking down on non-EU nationals – including us – buying up property, it looks like making the most of the Mediterranean could increasingly become more difficult.
And now, Ryanair have decided to cull some destinations to Spain, putting another roadblock in for Brits who are desperate for some R&R.
Ryanair announced that Spain will see a 18% decrease of traffic, with 800,000 seats being lost in the process – impacting tourism and jobs.
Here, we take a look at all of the Spanish Ryanair routes that have been culled or have had operations pulled back – and where you can go issue free.
What Ryanair routes have been impacted?
At the beginning of the month (February), the budget airline operator announced that they’re culling thousands of flights due to the ‘excessive fees’ they are now facing.
These fees have been introduced by Spanish airport operator Aena, who have slammed Ryanair’s decision to decrease frequency of traffic to Spain by 18%.
Aena’s president called the move Ryanair’s ‘modus operandi’, claiming the airline has issued “threats, half-truths, lies” to “many countries” over the years.
In the statement, the Aena president also blasted the airline for crossing the “Rubicon of respect, good faith and the most basic business and institutional courtesy.”
Well, let’s see have look to see what destinations have suffered:
Jerez
Ryanair has decided to outright close the operations in the Spanish city of Jerez. The city known for its flamenco music and sherry production is no longer a destination the budget airline flies to, which is predicted to have a huge effect on Spanish summer travel .
The regional airport, based in the Cádiz province, will now be harder for Brits to reach, with no direct routes now available due to the cut.
Valladolid
Ryanair also decided to enact a complete closure of operations to the northwest Spanish city of Valladolid. The destination boasts medieval religious sites and was home to several kings and the death place of explorer Christopher Columbus – where a museum has been erected to inform on his findings.
However, with the budget airline ceasing flights to Valladolid, there will be no direct routes from the UK to the historic city.
Santiago
Ryanair reported that Santiago will suffer a 28% traffic cut as the budget airline is removing one based aircraft, meaning less passengers through the airport door.
The northwest city is famous for its stunning architecture, but travelling there won’t be as frequent of an option. Ryanair’s non-stop flight takes a little over two hours from London.
Asturias
The regional airport of Asturias will also take an 11% traffic hit, as Ryanair eases off flights to the northwest region of Spain. Loved for its sprawling mountainous range and pretty coastlines, direct flights cost as little as £25 each way at time of writing.
But, you might want to be on the ball, as there’s less seats since Ryanair partially pulled the plug on the route.
Zaragoza
The capital of northeastern Spain’s Aragon region, Zaragoza, is famed for its Nuestra Señora del Pilar basilica. However, Ryanair is pulling back operations meaning the city will face a 20% decline in passenger traffic.
In just over two hours, Brits can take a walk around the city with flight prices for £22 in April.
Santander
Santander is seen as a ‘hidden gem’ for travellers wanting somewhere else to explore in Spain other than Barcelona and Benidorm. Ryanair announced that they will be pulling back flights to the capital of the Cantabria region, north Spain.
The budget airline has cut back 5% of their passenger traffic to the destination, perfect for culture and architecture lovers. Direct Ryanair flights in April start from £23.
Vigo
Taking the biggest hit to passenger traffic will be the northwestern city of Vigo. Ryanair has cut seats by 61% meaning that there will be considerably less direct flights to the Spanish port – including from UK airports.
Ryanair’s CEO Eddie Wilson released a long statement about the controversial move to cut operations in Spain and slammed Aena for their ‘monopoly’ on Spanish aviation.
He shared that decisions were made based on Aena ‘refusing’ to implement schemes to encourage growth. Chosen airports have suffered the cuts due to not being able to rise to pre-covid traffic levels.
Ryanair’s CEO, Eddie Wilson, said: “Aena’s excessive airport charges and lack of workable growth incentives continue to undermine Spain’s regional airports, limiting their growth and leaving vast swathes of airport’s capacity underutilised.
“The Spanish Govt’s commitment to drive Spain’s rapid post-Covid recovery saw Ryanair respond by increasing capacity to boost connectivity, tourism, and employment.
“Yet, Aena persists with unjustified charge hikes and refuses to implement effective incentive schemes to support Spain’s regional growth, instead prioritising foreign investments in airports across the Caribbean, UK, and the Americas.
He continued: “As a result, Ryanair will cease its entire Jerez and Valladolid operations, remove 1 based aircraft from Santiago ($100m investment) and reduce traffic in Vigo, Santiago, Zaragoza, Asturias, and Santander (loss of 800,000 seats) in Summer 2025.
“This is a marked contrast to Castellón – a non-Aena airport – which has delivered consistent growth over the last decade due to competitive charges and efficient operations.
“Aena’s refusal to incentivise airlines to use underutilised capacity at its regional airports has forced Ryanair to reallocate aircraft and capacity to more competitive European markets, such as Italy, Sweden, Croatia, Hungary, and Morocco, where governments are actively incentivising growth.
“Ryanair has long championed and invested in regional airports supporting low fare access for tourism and jobs, but Aena refuses to use its regional airport structure to support Spanish regional investment instead prioritising investments in airports outside of Spain.”
Full running Ryanair routes from UK to Spain:
- Alicante
- Almeria
- Asturias
- Barcelona
- Barcelona Girona
- Barcelona Reus
- Castellon (Valencia)
- Fuerteventura
- Gran Canaria
- Ibiza
- Lanzarote
- Madrid
- Malaga
- Menorca
- Murcia International
- Palma de Mallorca
- Santander
- Santiago
- Seville
- Tenerife South
- Valencia
- Vigo
- Zaragoza
Though, there might be hope for impacted airports as the Ryanair boss has praised CNMC (Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia), the independent competition regulator, for blocking Aena’s charge increases for this year.
Wilson is hoping the CNMC will reverse Aena’s charge increases from last year, that he says will attract more airlines to the regional aiports.
Otherwise, he expressed that Spain could ‘risk’ losing further “capacity and investment.”
CEO Eddie Wilson said: “While Ryanair welcomes CNMC recent decision to block Aena’s increase for 2025, it does not undo the damage caused by Aena’s 2024 increases and lack of incentives at regional airports.
“Ryanair now calls on the CNMC to reverse Aena’s 2024 charge increases to align with the government’s 5-year charge freeze, and implement incentive packages that will attract airlines to grow connectivity, tourism, and jobs at regional airports.
“Without urgent action, Spain risks losing further capacity and investment to more competitive markets, leaving regional airports half empty while Spain’s competitors thrive.”