While Ryanair cuts 1.2 million seats in Spain, the gap it is leaving has a name: Wizz Air

Ryanair continues in its thirteenth cutting seats at regional airports Spanish. The thing is that the rest of the low-cost airlines have not sat idly by and are taking advantage to have a greater presence. One of these airlines is Wizz Air, which is already thinking about grab a larger market share in Spain after the fight between Ryanair and Aena over airport taxes. Without its own bases, but with more routes and more seats.

If some leave, others come. Ryanair has been in open war for months with the Government for Aena airport taxes. The Irish company considers that the rates at regional airports are unaffordable and has gone from threats to withdraw from several Spanish airports, closing its base in Santiago de Compostela, canceling flights in Vigo and Tenerife North, and will leave those in Valladolid and Jerez inactive.

The total cut amounts to 1.2 million seats for the summer. In addition, next winter the airline also plans to reduce its capacity in Asturias, Santander, Zaragoza and several Canarian airports. Wizz Air has seen that gap.

What Wizz Air is doing. The Budapest-based airline has decided to move in the opposite direction: it plans to increase its capacity in Spain by 39% throughout 2026. This is confirmed by Vera Jardan, the company’s corporate communications director, in statements collected by OkDiario. According to the media, the strategy does not involve opening its own bases, but rather expanding operations in the airports where it already has a presence and adding new routes.

The company already operates in 16 Spanish airports, including Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Malaga, Alicante, Bilbao, Ibiza, Santander and Fuerteventura, and offers 144 routes to 15 different countries. Its latest novelty has been a direct connection between Menorca and Budapest.

What they say from within. “Spain is definitely an increasingly important emerging market for us, on which we are increasingly focusing,” counted Jardan in the middle. “We see that they are more open to adventures and impromptu trips, and we would definitely like to satisfy that demand with more interesting flights and destinations to different countries,” the manager continued.

Wizz Air has been betting for years on routes to central and eastern Europe, destinations that large airlines do not usually cover so frequently.

He Ryanair withdrawal. Just like we counted For some time now, Ryanair has historically maintained some low-demand routes thanks to advertising contracts with local institutions. When those contracts are no longer profitable (or more attractive incentives have appeared in other markets, like morocco), the company has not hesitated to withdraw its flights.

Added to this is the impact of AVE to Galiciawhich has reduced passengers from the plane in a region that has already accumulated a drop of 15.5% so far this year.

What changes the travelers. In the short term, those traveling with Ryanair from affected regional airports will have fewer options or will have to travel to another departure point. Wizz Air can cover part of that demand, but its destination network and operating model are still not comparable to that of the Irish airline. What is clear is that the Hungarian company sees at this moment a real window of opportunity to gain share in a market that, until now, Ryanair had dominated with almost no direct competition in the low-cost segment.

Cover image | Paréj Richárd

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