Travel
Ryanair accused of blackmail by Spanish airports as it cuts 800,000 seats for summer 2025
Travellers will find fewer low-cost options at Spanish regional airports this summer.
European low-cost behemoth and one of the biggest budget airlines in the world, Ryanair has pulled thousands of seats from its schedules for 2025 across several Spanish airports.
In all, seven airports will have their Ryanair services reduced, some by as little as five per cent. Others will see the exit of the budget airline entirely.
Overall, Ryanair is removing a total of 800,000 seats from the Spanish market, representing 18 per cent of its overall operations in the country. Twelve routes will be lost altogether.
The airline says this is because of the fees imposed by Spanish airport operator Aena, which it deems ‘excessive.’ However, Aena has hit back at the airline, accusing it of ‘blackmail’ and suggesting that Ryanair is using its weight to try and get airport access for free.
“Unfortunately, this is Ryanair’s modus operandi,” says Maurici Lucena, President of Aena. “In many European countries, we have seen it for years: threats, half-truths, lies…; but in the case of Spain, I honestly believe that today they have crossed the Rubicon of respect, good faith and the most basic business and institutional courtesy.”
Which airports are losing Ryanair service?
It is mainly regional airports in Spain that are losing either part or all of their Ryanair services.
Most affected are Jerez and Valladolid, which the budget airline will pull out of entirely.
According to Aena, Valladolid will be left with only one commercial operator once Ryanair exits – Binter Canarias, with its twice-weekly service to Gran Canaria.
Jerez will fare better, with existing services from Binter, Air Nostrum and Vueling connecting it to Madrid, Barcelona, Mallorca, Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
Of the other airports, Vigo will lose the most capacity, with Ryanair cutting 61 per cent of its flights.
At Santiago, Ryanair will remove one aircraft from its base there, leading to a 28 per cent reduction in capacity. Zaragoza, Asturias and Santander will also lose a few Ryanair flights.
“Aena’s excessive airport charges and lack of workable growth incentives continue to undermine Spain’s regional airports,” says Eddie Wilson, CEO of Ryanair. “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.”
What are the fees Ryanair is unhappy with?
Aena says that the average charge being paid by airlines for airport services as of 1 March will remain frozen at €10.35 per passenger, the same as it was in 2024.
“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,” Wilson adds.
However, Aena disputes the assertion that they are not incentivising airlines to make use of regional airports. At the end of October 2024, the airport management company approved an initiative to stimulate growth by subsidising its 17 regional airports.
Specifically, for those airports with fewer than three million passengers and which had not returned to their pre-pandemic passenger levels, Aena has offered a 100 per cent discount for additional passengers over and above the 2023 levels.
Aena says that, in reality, this incentive scheme would reduce Ryanair’s per-passenger fee to just €2.
“Aena cordially urges Ryanair to calm down and abandon its long-standing and regrettably well-known mendacious, aggressive and threatening business and communication strategy,” the airport operator says, “which it is very difficult not to interpret as an attempt to blackmail Aena, the region and, ultimately, the Spanish public.”
Are the fees at Spanish airports hampering growth?
Aena says its fees are amongst the lowest in Europe, although Ryanair says this isn’t true.
Inflationary pressures have seen everything become more expensive, including in aviation. From fuel and staff to supplies and services, it all costs more than it used to and airlines have been quick to pass on to passengers.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says that airfares increased 16 per cent in 2024 compared with 2019. However, Airports Council International (ACI) has published research that suggests they’re more like 38 per cent higher.
On the other hand, airports have not been able to raise their charges to the same magnitude. ACI says that airport charges in Europe rose just 13.6 per cent in 2024, far below the cost increases airports are experiencing.
“Many airports have yet to fully reflect inflationary pressures in their user charges,” says Olivier Jankovec, director general of ACI Europe. “Regulators are often oblivious of these pressures and of how debt accumulated through COVID is hurting their investment capabilities.”
Part of Ryanair’s argument is that Aena was allowed to raise fees by 4.09 per cent in 2024, despite the Spanish government ruling in 2021 that airport fees would be frozen for five years.
In 2023, the Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC) approved the rise, which shakes out to a total of €0.40 more per passenger. Aena again proposed an increase for 2025, which would have added €0.05 to the cost for airlines, but it was refused by CNMC.
Despite Ryanair’s assertions that fees are at the heart of its schedule changes, the argument weakens when its entire Spanish operation is considered.
“I am surprised that they are questioning the profitability of these routes,” says Lucena. He goes on to explain that Ryanair’s flights from the regional airports have been full – fuller even than those at major city airports.
Throughout 2024, Ryanair increased its activity at Spanish airports by 8.7 per cent. For 2025, despite the cuts the airline has planned, its Spanish activities will increase again, with around 5 per cent more flights overall.
Ryanair is continuing to grow at the largest and most touristic Spanish airports. These airports do not attract the incentive discount, and airlines are charged the full €10.35 per passenger.
“In reality, what Ryanair has announced is that it will withdraw a very small percentage, in relative terms, of its total operations,” says Lucena. “The 800,000 seats they announced account for exactly 1.21 per cent of all passenger traffic they carried in 2024.”
He adds that Ryanair is masking business-led route cuts to exert pressure on Aena and the government.
Lucena even goes so far as to say that, under Spanish law, Ryanair’s moves could even be considered illegal. “In short, it’s all rather unpleasant and regrettable,” he concludes.
In a statement, Aena reiterated its position, saying, “Despite its grandiloquent rhetoric, Ryanair’s constant public pressure boils down to a simple goal: to use a significant portion of Spanish airports for free, which would jeopardise the long-term financial sustainability of Spain’s airport system.”
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By Euronews Travel
Published on
Norway is set to become the latest European destination to introduce a tourist tax to combat concerns about rising visitor numbers.
Lawmakers approved the new levy on Thursday, which allows municipalities to introduce a 3 per cent tax on overnight stays in “areas particularly affected by tourism”.
The law allows local authorities to apply the tax at their own discretion, and it will be added to accommodation charges. Authorities will also be allowed to adjust the percentage based on the season.
The funds raised by the tax will be used exclusively to improve tourism infrastructure projects that benefit both visitors and local people. Municipalities will have to demonstrate that their facilities are inadequate and have their plans approved by the government to spend the funds.
Cecilie Myrseth, Norway’s minister of trade and industry, said on social media that her government had reached a “historic agreement” to introduce a tourism tax that was “in line with what they have in the rest of Europe”.
The country is the latest in a string of European nations introducing or increasing visitor levies to tackle the growing problem of overtourism. A tax may also be applied to cruise ships that make stops in the country, particularly in areas that are most affected by overtourism.
Norway is experiencing a tourism boom
As tourists increasingly choose cooler, northern European destinations to get away from the heat, Norway has experienced a boom in visitor numbers.
Last year, a record-breaking 38.6 million people booked accommodation in the country. That includes more than 12 million overnight stays by foreign tourists – a 4.2 per cent increase from 2023.
Some previously quiet destinations have been overwhelmed, like the Lofoten islands, where eye-catching images of hiking trails posted on social media have led to an influx of visitors. With a population of 24,500 people distributed across several small towns and villages, keeping up with the cost of all these new visitors has been hard.
A recent survey by industry organisation Norwegian Tourism Partners found that 77 per cent of people in Tromsø, in northern Norway above the Arctic Circle, thought there were too many tourists there. Visitors have been drawn by the Northern Lights, wildlife excursions, Sami cultural experiences and what the city itself has to offer.
The increase in tourism has caused tension with local residents across Norway as infrastructure has struggled to keep up with the boom. Facilities like public toilets and car parks have been overwhelmed in popular destinations.
Some residents have even reported cases of people using their back gardens as toilets, and bemoaned the increased traffic clogging up Norway’s roads.
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As millions of holidaymakers prepare to head to the Canary Islands this summer, authorities have issued a wildfire pre-alert across the archipelago.
The warning, announced by the General Directorate of Emergencies on Sunday, applies to tourist hotspots El Hierro, La Palma, La Gomera, Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
It comes as the islands enter a high-risk fire period following the wet season, as hot, dry winds known as the ‘calima’ begin blowing in from the Sahara Desert.
Fires are common, but they haven’t slowed tourism
The risk of wildfire is nothing new for the Canary Islands.
The volcanic terrain, Mediterranean climate and fire-adapted vegetation – plants that have evolved to thrive in fire-prone environments – make them susceptible to summer blazes, and scientists say wildfires are part of the archipelago’s ecological rhythm.
Some of the worst occurred in 2023, when forest fires ravaged Tenerife, destroying more than 15,000 hectares of land and forcing 12,000 people to evacuate. The blaze was later found to have been started by arsonists.
This year, officials are urging tourists and locals alike to take extreme caution, warning against launching fireworks near forests and discarding cigarettes on dry ground.
But even as the fire warnings roll in, the Canaries’ appeal shows no signs of slowing down.
In 2024, the islands welcomed nearly 18 million tourists, including a record-breaking 15.5 million international arrivals. Among them, British travellers led the way, recording 6.3 million visits – up 500,000 from 2023.
Concerns about overtourism mount amid record arrivals
While the Canary Islands continue to attract record numbers of tourists, residents are increasingly voicing concerns about overtourism.
In April 2024, tens of thousands of islanders participated in protests, holding signs that read “the Canary Islands have a limit” while rallying against rising housing costs, environmental damage and the strain on public services.
Over Easter this year, about 80,000 hospitality workers in Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierrowalked out in a dispute with unions over pay.
The surge in short-term rentals has been especially contentious. Locals have reported getting priced out of their neighbourhoods as properties are converted into holiday lets, the cost of living soars and wages stagnate.
Despite these concerns, tourism remains a significant part of the Canary Islands’ economy, accounting for approximately 35 per cent of its GDP.
Tenerife still reigns supreme
After welcoming seven million tourists in 2024, Tenerife remains the most visited island.
Its year-round sunshine and wide beaches keep it a firm favourite among families, especially during the UK’s summer school break and throughout the winter months.
As the peak summer season picks up, local tourism boards have made no indication that the fire pre-alerts will disrupt travel plans.
But authorities remain focused on prevention this year.
More than 2,000 firefighters are on standby. Meanwhile, the government has distributed detailed safety advice, urging people to prepare a go-bag, stay informed and follow emergency evacuation or shelter-in-place instructions if fires erupt.
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Travel
Violent turbulence hits Ryanair flight in Germany, forcing an emergency landing and injuring 9
By Euronews Travel with AP
Published on
Severe storms in southern Germany forced a Ryanair flight to make an emergency landing late Wednesday after violent turbulence injured nine people on board, German police said in a statement Thursday.
The flight, travelling from Berlin to Milan with 179 passengers and six crew members, encountered turbulence so intense around 8:30 pm that the pilot was forced to make an unscheduled landing at Memmingen Airport in Bavaria.
Eight passengers and one crew member were hurt.
Three people were taken to the hospital in Memmingen for treatment; the other injured people were released after receiving outpatient treatment. As a precaution, all passengers were checked for injuries by the emergency services.
Authorities did not permit the plane to continue flying, and the airline arranged bus transport for passengers. Milan is about 380 kilometres south of Memmingen.
More bad weather expected in Germany
Elsewhere in the region, storms damaged several homes in Ulm, Baden-Württmberg, according to the German news agency dpa.
In the Donaustetten district, strong winds tore roofs off multiple row houses, rendering them uninhabitable, though no injuries were reported. Fire officials suspect a small tornado or waterspout caused the damage. The German Weather Service (DWD) is investigating, according to dpa.
Storm-related emergency calls also came from other areas in southern Germany, where damage was mostly limited to fallen trees and flooded basements.
The DWD warned of further storms on Thursday, 5 June, with hail, strong winds, and localised heavy rain expected.
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