We already know how big the hole that Ryanair will leave in the small cities of Spain will leave: 640,000 squares

He will leave Jerez and Valladolid. And will drastically reduce its operations in Vigo. It will also offer less flights at the airports of Santiago de Compostela, Zaragoza, Asturias and Santander. That is Ryanair’s decision made In response to AENA rates that consider excessive and the lack of incentives to maintain airlines.

In total, it is estimated that 643,000 seats will be lost With the departure of the company Low-Cost of these airports or the reduction of their activity from this summer. The company’s numbers point to a reduction in the offer of 800,000 places But a small part of these seats will be compensated with the arrival of other airlines or the increase in their activity.

Incentives and rates in the center of the conflict

With Ryanair’s departure, it is also confirmed that it is the minor airports that more will suffer from summer. Valladolid is undoubtedly the city that in relative terms more passengers loses. This summer will have 96,000 seats less. It will go from the 154,000 seats offered in 2024 to just 60,000 places, which represents a reduction of 61%.

However, in absolute terms, Santiago de Compostela airport is the one that will lose the most passengers from all over Spain. Next summer will have 334,000 less places, which is a reduction of 11.4% compared to last year’s programming. A blow to a city that has in the summer a wave of tourism arrived from the Camino de Santiago.

Among the most affected airports, Zaragoza is another of the places where its departure will most be noticed, losing 113,000 seats that represent 18.5% of the operations. Santander, with 88,000 lost places, will lose 10% of its passenger volume compared to last year. Jerez will stay at 7%, with 52,400 places offered less.

Other airports, however, manage to hold the stick that supposes the exit of the Irish company. Vigo, where Ryanair announced a reduction of 61% of its operations, will grow and offer this summer 64,700 seats more than in 2024, 8.8% higher than last year. Asturias will not run so much luck but cushion the impact with a reduction in the volume of travelers that is barely reflected in a 1.8% decrease (27,000 places less).

In general terms, AENA will lose 643,000 places offered with the departure of Ryanair from some of its airports and the descent of its operations. An output that occurs after the company indicated AENA’s rates as abusive and incentives to operate in small insufficient airports. For their part, in Aena they have seen this movement as blackmail, according to Five days.

Although in recent days the Irish company has generated even more noise with an aggressive advertising campaign in which Call “clown” to Pablo Bustinduy, Minister of Consumptionusing the fine receivable in the cabin As a claim, it was the operating rates in AENA and the lack of incentives in small airports that motivated the exit of these places.

The rates charged by Aena are designed to guarantee the proper functioning of an airport, is the price to be paid for a company to provide the security or cleaning service, among others. On average, Companies pay 10.35 euros per passenger in Spain But in smaller airports they barely reach two or three euros because some incentives are applied to operate in these lines.

For example, 100% of the rate of reduced mobility travelers or 100% of the safety rate is reimbursed, to make these spaces more attractive from the big cities. Decisions that are not enough for Ryanair who ask “A substantial reduction” Of the same or that, even, “if there is a regional airport with 500,000 passengers, which is given a discount to all the 50% airlines on the existing traffic and free for the next 50,000 passengers”, in the words of Eddie Wilson , CEO of Ryanair, during an interview with Five days.

What Wilson does not do in that interview is one of the economic incentives from low -cost airlines that provide services at these airports and receive subsidies from institutions in the form of advertising to maintain their flights. They are contracts that, with its departure, the airline is breaking and that allowed, for example, that In Vigo a fluid line was maintained with London airport.

Photo | Marty Sakin

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