Ryanair cuts 1.2 million Spain seats

Ryanair said on October 8, 2025 that it would cut 1.2 million seats from its Summer 2026 schedule in regional Spain and stop all flights to and from Asturias Airport. The airline said the reduction amounts to 10% of its planned regional Spain capacity for the season. It blamed what it called rising airport charges imposed by Spain’s airport operator Aena and said the Spanish government had failed to curb those increases. The carrier also tied the move to hand-baggage fines imposed by Consumer Rights Minister Pablo Bustinduy, which it has repeatedly challenged. ### Why is Ryanair cutting seats in Spain again? Ryanair said the Summer 2026 cuts follow an earlier reduction of 1 million seats in regional Spain for Winter 2025. In its statement, the airline said both rounds of cuts were a direct response to higher airport fees at what it described as under-used regional airports. (corporate.ryanair.com) Aena’s 2026 airport pricing guides show the operator continues to publish updated charge schedules for Spanish airports. Ryanair has used those charges as the center of a wider dispute with Aena over the economics of flying to smaller Spanish airports, while Aena says its airport users are required to pay charges set under current legislation. (corporate.ryanair.com) ### What exactly is being cut? The 1.2 million-seat reduction applies to regional Spain in Summer 2026, not to Ryanair’s entire Spanish network. The airline said it would withdraw completely from Asturias Airport, ending all flights to and from OVD. (aena.es) Asturias is the clearest operational change because it is a full exit rather than a frequency trim. Ryanair’s statement did not, in the search results reviewed, list every affected route in the short summary, but it framed the move as part of a broader rollback at regional airports where it says fees have become uncompetitive. (corporate.ryanair.com) ### Is this only about Asturias? Spain is the immediate focus of this announcement, but the dispute fits a broader pattern in Ryanair’s recent network decisions across Europe. Ryanair’s investor relations page shows the airline has recently highlighted growth in markets where governments or airports lowered costs, including Bratislava, where it announced a larger Winter 2026 schedule and said lower costs supported expansion. (corporate.ryanair.com) That contrast is central to Ryanair’s public argument: it says it will add aircraft and routes where airport charges fall and pull capacity where fees rise. The company has made similar complaints in other European markets, including Germany and other countries where it has linked taxes or airport charges to capacity cuts, though this Spain announcement is specifically about regional Spanish flying and Asturias. (investor.ryanair.com) ### What is Aena’s role in the dispute? Aena operates Spain’s airport network and publishes annual price guides covering airport service charges. Those guides do not adopt Ryanair’s language about “monopoly fee rises,” but they set out the charges airlines face at Spanish airports and note that the information is published for guidance purposes. (corporate.ryanair.com) The dispute has also become political. Ryanair’s October 8 statement said the Spanish government had failed to stop Aena’s fee increases and had not reversed baggage-related fines pushed by Bustinduy. That wording came from the airline, not from Aena or the ministry in the materials reviewed. (aena.es) ### What should travelers and airports watch next? Summer 2026 is the next concrete milestone because that is when the 1.2 million-seat reduction is due to take effect. Travelers looking for final route availability will need to watch Ryanair’s booking system and airport schedules, while airports in regional Spain will be looking for replacement capacity from other carriers if routes are dropped. (corporate.ryanair.com) Aena’s published 2026 pricing guides and any further Ryanair network announcements will show whether the dispute widens or stabilizes. Asturias Airport is the one airport named for a full Ryanair exit in this announcement. (corporate.ryanair.com)