First they announced the exit. After there would be delays. Now they threaten more games. Ryanair has filed a pulse with the government following a historical fine and alleged Aena rates too high. And the most affected are the neighbors of the provincial capitals of our country.
“They are not profitable routes”. And that is why Ryanair’s departure is logical and “it is possible to enter other regional airports in these changes.” These changes are cancellations of routes and the words are from Elena Cabrera, Country Manager of Ryanair in Spain, to questions from Spanish-Invertia.
With them certifies the pressure policy that the company is doing in Spain, in response to a historical fine imposed by the Executive that has led to the company of some Spanish airports, seriously injuring its activity.
What happened? Ryanair’s threat to leave more airports in Spain is not born from nothing. In November 2024, the Government certified a historical fine to various airlines Low Cost. The reason: they were charging for wearing a hand suitcase. The sanction for Ryanair It was more than 107 million euros.
The fine imposed by the Ministry of Consumption is, in the eyes of Ryanair, illegal. They point out that they do let travel with a hand suitcase but that It should not exceed contained dimensions 40 x 20 x 25 cm. The battle on whether or not this is legal has arrived in Europe. Spain will have to give explanations in front of the EU Pilota mediating referee designed to resolve conflicts between the European Commission and the Member States.
Essential. The origin of the conflict is in the word “essential.” That is the hand luggage that airlines are obliged to allow the passenger for free. Obviously, for the government there is no doubt: the reduced dimensions do not comply with the norm and the bulge cannot be qualified as “essential.” Ryanair believes the opposite.
And the problem is that Not justice agrees. In Spain we have had sentences that contradict themselves. Cases in which passengers is right And Ryanair is forced to compensate them and cases in which he fails In favor of the company And the speech is bought that this backpack is enough to travel.
AENA’s rates. Perhaps because abandoning Spain for the simple fine was too controversial or because, really, there is an economic reason in it, Ryanair assures that if he leaves Spain it is because of the high rates that the company charges for operating at its airports.
These fees serve to pay the cleaning, safety or maintenance services of airports but for the Irish company They are too high. Aena defends himself by ensuring that There are multiple discounts that leave the operation at regional airports at a very low price. For the moment, Competition has forced Aena to freeze rates.
800,000 seats. Aware of its strength in some regional airports, Ryanair has abandoned Operations in Valladolid and Jerez de la Frontera this summer. And has reduced its presence in Vigo, Santiago, Zaragoza, Asturias and Santander. This has led to Valladolid for 60% of air traffic.
In total, there are 12 routes that have been canceled or reduced their activity. According to Expansionin the balance for this summer, telling all the airlines, 92,000 seats have been lost to fly from Spain. Of the lost places, 75% are a consequence of Ryanair’s march of these airports.
More tension. Now, Ryanair continues to stretch from the rope. Seen the impact they have claimed for months that regional airports They live “a terminal decline” For a long time. The lack of passengers is, they say, the main reason for their march. That they have not been covered by competitors “demonstrates that they are not profitable routes”, in the words of their country manager.
However, we must bear in mind that the company has not been operating by volume in this type of route. As is happening With a flight from the Canary Islands to Morocco, It has been institutional advertising the one that has kept these lines alive. To the point that in some cases contracts have been broken that still remained active.
Photo | Ivan Mihajlovic
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