1.2 million fewer places, with Asturias as the most affected

The airline has announced a new cut of 1.2 million seats in Spanish regional airports for the 2026 summer season. This It is already the third reduction consecutive in a year and leaves Asturias without any Ryanair operations.

The hardest blow. Asturias is left without any Ryanair flights, becoming the airport most affected by this decision. Although the airline has not detailed the specific impact on other regional airports, this cut is in addition to the 800,000 seats eliminated last summer and the million eliminated in the current winter season. In total, three million fewer places in just twelve months.

The battle of rates. Michael O’Leary, CEO of Ryanair, holds Aena directly responsible and the Spanish Government to make regional airports “uncompetitive” by raising rates of 7%. According to O’Learythe airport manager charges similar prices at small and large aerodromes, which penalizes destinations with less traffic. The company denounces that these airports operate with a capacity of 10% or 20% and demands reductions of at least 50% in rates to stimulate traffic.

Aena’s response. Its executive vice president, Javier Marín, rejects the accusations. He assures that the increase represents only about 30 cents per passenger and denies that the rates are the same at all airports. According to Marín, a small airport can charge two euros per passenger in the growth phase, compared to 14 euros for Madrid-Barajas. Marín describes the situation as “blackmail” and points out that other airlines are occupying the routes that Ryanair abandons.

Where does the capacity go?. The airline will move part of the seats eliminated to Spanish airports with the highest traffic such as Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Palma and Malaga, where their offer will increase by 600,000 seats. The rest will be reallocated to countries that Ryanair says offer more favorable conditions: Italy, Morocco, Croatia, Sweden and Hungary, where governments have eliminated environmental taxes or reduced airport charges.

And now what. Ryanair keeps the door open to reversing the cuts if Aena cancels the planned rate increase and substantially lowers prices at regional airports. Meanwhile, competitors like Volotea have already announced that They will take advantage of the gaps left by the Irishwith an increase of 16.4% in its national offer, especially in destinations such as Asturias.

Cover image | Gabor Koszegi

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