The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, stated on Wednesday that airlines, such as Vueling, will “immediately” cover the routes abandoned by Ryanair in Spain this winter. He emphasised the principle of “out with the old, in with the new” and highlighted his efforts through meetings with the airlines to facilitate this change.
Ryanair’s Capacity Reduction
Last week, Ryanair, Europe’s leading low-cost airline, announced a reduction of one million seats in Spain for the upcoming winter season. This decision was a response to the “excessive” increase in airport fees imposed by Aena, which the airline claims undermines its competitiveness at regional airports.
However, during a plenary session in the Congress of Deputies on Wednesday, Puente remarked that the company “is not justified” in its actions. “Ryanair complains about a fee increase of €0.68 per ticket, yet they have raised ticket prices by 21% this year,” he stated, arguing that if the fee increase genuinely affected ticket prices, the rise would have been much smaller.
Seeking Profitability
The minister asserted that Ryanair increases ticket prices in pursuit of profit, “at the expense of Aena’s profitability,” which enables improvements at airports. Therefore, he urged that “one shouldn’t give in to siren songs, as it is untrue that they are leaving airports due to a lack of profitability.”
To illustrate Ryanair’s “falsehood,” Puente pointed out that if this were true, other airlines such as Wizz Air, Vueling, or Iberia Express “would not have announced an increase in traffic at those airports.”
Encouragement to Local Authorities
Furthermore, he encouraged local administrations to invest in promoting destinations and pay Ryanair for maintaining routes if they wish to do so. “They are free to do this,” he remarked, citing the Principality of Asturias or the Portuguese city of Porto as examples. However, he insisted that the “entire Spanish populace should not be asked to give in to any form of blackmail” nor should the existing regulatory framework—the Airport Regulation Document (DORA)—be altered, as it “functions exceptionally well to satisfy the legitimate desires of a private company to earn more money.”
Closure of Santiago Base
Ryanair announced last week that it would close its Santiago base, cancelling all flights to Vigo and Tenerife North, and reducing capacity in Asturias, Santander, Zaragoza, and the Canary Islands. This comes in addition to cuts already implemented for the summer season at other regional airports like Jerez and Valladolid, where it has ceased operations. Should these seats not be taken up by competing airlines, the total reduction in air capacity in Spain would reach 16%.
All of this stems from Aena’s proposal to raise airport fees by 6.62% for the upcoming year, a modification that is still awaiting final approval from the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC), an aspect steadfastly criticised by the airline, which also accuses Aena of operating a “monopoly.”
