Ryanair has revealed it’s axing some of its routes due to recent taxes or surcharges. The Irish carrier has announced an 18 percent reduction in its Spanish summer 2025 traffic, equating to a loss of 800,000 seats and 12 routes.
In a statement given to the Mirror, Ryanair disclosed plans to shut down operations in Jerez and Valladolid, remove one based aircraft from Santiago, and reduce traffic at five other regional airports – Vigo (-61 percent), Santiago (-28 percent), Zaragoza (-20 percent), Asturias (-11 percent) and Santander (-5 percent) – this summer. CEO Eddie Wilson said: “Excessive airport charges and lack of workable growth incentives continue to undermine Spain’s regional airports, limiting their growth and leaving vast swathes of airport’s capacity underutilised.”
However, Aena, the world’s leading airport operator by passenger volume, said that the average charge airlines will pay for airport services as of March 1 this year remains frozen at €10.35 per passenger. “This charge is among the lowest in Europe,” stated Aena. Yet, Spain isn’t the only country bracing for cuts from Ryanair. Travel and Tour World reports that additional charges could lead to reduced capacity in several popular destinations, including Italy, reports the Mirror.
Ryanair confirmed last month that it will also remove one of its Rome-based aircrafts from Fiumicino (the country’s largest airport) for summer 2025. “This means no growth for Rome despite the celebrations for the Jubilee year,” the airline added, blaming the news on municipal surcharges in the main Italian airports that start on April 1, 2025.
Austria is also in the firing line over its €12 air traffic tax. “This exorbitant tax, coupled with Austria’s very high airport and security fees, is damaging Austria’s competitiveness as a tourist destination compared to lower cost EU countries such as Sweden, Hungary and regions of Italy, all of which are abolishing aviation tax and reducing access costs to secure traffic and tourism growth,” Ryanair said in a statement.
Ryanair has also scrapped all flights to and from Aalborg, after Denmark announced new aviation taxes. The new tax, which is 50DKK (£5.57), will apply to all passengers departing from Denmark and will be paid for by airlines.
This means that from next month all flights to Aalborg from London Stansted will be cancelled. However, airlines including KLM, Norwegian Air, and Scandinavian Airlines will still fly from the UK to Aalborg, but passengers will need to board a connecting flight to get there.
Meanwhile, France is gearing up to increase its aviation tax by 2025, a move that appears to have the backing of Minister of Public Accounts Amélie de Montchalin. She commented: “It is a measure of fiscal and ecological justice,” and pointed out that “the 20 percent of the population with the highest income are responsible for more than half of the expenses devoted to air travel.”
This could potentially lead Ryanair to cut down on its French routes. Travel and Tour World reported that the airline shut down its Bordeaux base in last year and has also “backed out of operating flights to Paris”.