Ryanair has declared that it will be closing one of its Spanish bases and cancelling all flights to two holiday destinations. The airline revealed that it will close its Santiago base and axe all flights to Vigo and Tenerife North in Spain.
At present, two aircraft are based in Santiago. As a result of the cancellation, there will be a loss of 149 million investment across the Galicia region. All the flights to Vigo will be discontinued from January 2026. On the other hand, all flights to Tenerife North will be suspended from this winter.
Furthermore, Ryanair will close two more airbases, including Valladolid and Jerez bases. It will reduce the capacity in Austria by 16 per cent, Santerder by 38 per cent, and Vitoria by two per cent, and Zaragoza by 45 per cent.
36 connections between regional Spain and the Canary Islands will be cancelled, with two million seats diverted to Italy, Morocco, Croatia, and Albania each year.
Eddie Wilson, Ryanair’s CEO, and Ryanair’s Head of Communication, Alejandra Ruiz, declared the new cuts of the present day at a press conference in Madrid. They added that the airline will reduce 16 per cent of its seating capacity across the country.
Eddie Wilson said that Ryanair will remain committed to Spain, but they cannot justify continued investment in airports whose growth is being hampered by excessive charges.
The airline is again requesting that the Spanish regulator, CNMC, and the government withdraw the “excessive rate increases” and extend the current freeze on fees.
Ryanair has blamed its seat reduction movement on uncompetitive and excessive airport charges implemented by the Spanish Airport Operator, AENA. AENA manages all key Spanish Airports, including helicopters.
AENA has recently announced that it will implement a 6.6 per cent increase in airline fees from 2026 onwards. The rate is the highest hike in the past 10 years. Though the operator has seen a record profit in 2025.
AENA charges a fee for accessing its airports and services, including runway, security, aircraft, and baggage handling. AENA set an additional charge to partially fund the expansion of AENA’s primary airports in Madrid and Barcelona.
However, it may result in flight prices hiking for British holidaymakers, since the airlines are looking to neutralise the fee.
In January this year, Ryanair cut 800,000 seats across 12 routes, including both international flights and domestic Spanish aircraft.
Eddie Wilson declared that AENA’s excessive airport charges and lack of viable incentives for growth are disrupting Spain’s regional airports. The excessive fees are limiting the growth of Ryanair and leaving huge areas of airport capacity unused.
