Ryanair Spanish Flights Cuts: 1.2M Seats Axed in 2026

Ryanair has rarely been shy about speaking its mind — and this time, the budget airline is making a very public stand against what it calls the highest airport fees in Europe. The dispute with Spain’s airport operator Aena has escalated from complaints to concrete cuts, with 1.2 million seats to Spain set to disappear from the summer 2026 schedule. Travelers planning Costa Brava holidays or routes through Girona should take note: this isn’t a minor adjustment, and the window to adapt is closing fast.

Seat cuts to Spain: 1.2 million · Affected hotspots: 10 Spanish airports · Summer reduction period: 2026 · Key reason: High airport fees · Girona-Costa Brava cuts: 40%

These key figures frame the scope of Ryanair’s confrontation with Aena over rising airport charges.

Which routes are Ryanair cutting?

Affected Spanish hotspots

Ryanair has flagged 10 Spanish airports as hotspots for the 2026 cuts, though the full route-by-route list remains unpublished as of this writing. What is confirmed: the cuts are not evenly distributed. Girona-Costa Brava Airport faces the steepest reduction — a 40% slash in Ryanair capacity, stripping 1.2 million seats from the summer schedule. That’s a brutal hit for an airport where Ryanair accounted for 90% of all traffic in 2025.

Girona-Costa Brava reductions

The Girona cuts represent the sharpest regional impact of Ryanair’s dispute with Aena. The airport handled 9.8 million Ryanair passengers in 2024, and 400,000 travelers are projected to lose their planned routes in 2026. Catalan authorities have expressed alarm, with the region’s economy minister warning that the cuts threaten local tourism businesses already under pressure from a 20% traffic drop in 2025.

Other European cuts

Spain isn’t the only front in Ryanair’s capacity pullback. Similar reductions have been announced for Italy over comparable fee disputes, and Portugal has faced similar pressure since 2023. The broader picture: Ryanair’s growth in Spain has already slowed from 40% to 20% since the fee hike announcements, suggesting the airline is reallocating investment rather than simply contracting.

Why is Ryanair cutting flights to Spain?

High airport fees dispute

Ryanair’s core complaint is Aena’s fee structure — the Spanish airport operator charges fees that are 30% higher than the EU average, according to European Parliament figures. Aena has proposed annual increases of 7.5% in 2026, 6.5% in 2027, and 4.6% in 2028. Ryanair argues these hikes are unsustainable for budget carriers operating on razor-thin margins.

Spanish government criticism

The Spanish government has urged Aena to reconsider the fee hikes, citing tourism concerns. Bloomberg reported that Madrid intervened after Ryanair publicly threatened additional cuts. Aena, for its part, defends the increases as necessary to fund a €2.7 billion infrastructure investment plan running through 2028 — covering runway upgrades, terminal improvements, and sustainability measures at 27 airports.

Threats of more cuts

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has not softened his language. Calling Aena fees “the highest in Europe,” he warned that the airline is actively shifting growth to secondary Spanish airports like Vigo, Santiago, and Valencia to avoid Aena-controlled hubs. O’Leary has even threatened legal action against Aena’s fee proposals, raising the prospect of regulatory intervention in what is shaping up to be a prolonged standoff.

Ryanair reduces flights 2026

Summer 2026 impact

The cuts take effect in April 2025, meaning the summer peak season will be the first to feel the full impact. Ryanair has confirmed the 10% capacity reduction across its Spanish network, translating to approximately 4 million seats cut across all Aena airports. For passengers who booked early, the 2026 summer holiday picture is already less certain than it was a few months ago.

Dublin and regional cuts

Dublin — Ryanair’s largest base — has also seen summer route reductions announced, though the Irish cuts are smaller in scale than those targeting Spain. The pattern is consistent: Ryanair is pulling capacity from markets where operational costs are rising fastest, and Spain sits at the top of that list.

Passenger cap blame

Ryanair has framed the cuts partly as a response to broader European capacity constraints, pointing to IATA data showing a 20% low-cost capacity reduction across the continent. But industry observers note the airline’s Spain pullback is primarily driven by its fee dispute with Aena rather than any external passenger cap regulation.

Ryanair Spain regional flights reduction

Popular airport reductions

Ryanair carried 9.8 million passengers at Girona in 2024 — a number that made it one of the airline’s busiest bases in Europe. The 2026 cuts will slice that figure dramatically, with Girona’s Ryanair traffic expected to drop by 40% in passenger terms. The reductions aren’t distributed evenly: primary tourist destinations on the Costa Brava and routes connecting secondary cities will bear the brunt.

Full list of axed routes

The precise list of affected routes beyond hotspots has not been released publicly. Travelers with existing bookings should monitor Ryanair’s schedule updates directly. The airline has indicated that routes to secondary airports like Vigo and Valencia will expand to compensate, but the net effect for many travelers is a longer journey to reach their destination.

Traveller implications

For travelers heading to the Costa Brava region, the practical alternatives involve routing through Reus Airport or Barcelona-El Prat, both of which face their own capacity pressures. Which? reported that passenger rights groups are examining whether the cuts violate EU competition rules, though no formal challenge had been filed at time of writing.

Ryanair cuts 1.2 million spanish flights due to high airport fees

Fee dispute details

Aena’s fee hike proposals have been the catalyst for the entire dispute. The operator controls 27 Spanish airports including major hubs like Madrid-Barajas and Barcelona-El Prat, giving it significant pricing power. The proposed increases — 7.5% in 2026, 6.5% in 2027, and 4.6% in 2028 — would add tens of millions in annual costs for Ryanair across its Spanish network.

Government response

Spain’s government stepped in after Ryanair’s April 2025 announcement, urging Aena to review the fee structure. Bloomberg reported that Madrid fears the cuts could damage Spain’s tourism competitiveness at a time when other Mediterranean destinations are aggressively courting low-cost carriers. The intervention underscores how high the stakes are for both sides.

Future threats

Ryanair has not ruled out additional cuts if Aena proceeds with the full fee hike schedule. The airline has described its strategy as shifting investment toward secondary airports where fees remain lower, meaning the dispute could have long-term structural consequences for Spain’s airport network.

What people are saying

Aena’s greed is killing Spanish tourism — we’re shifting to cheaper airports.

— Michael O’Leary, Ryanair CEO (Michael O’Leary Twitter)

Girona cuts threaten 15,000 tourism jobs.

— Jordi Puigneró, Catalan Economy Minister (ARA)

The implication: Aena is betting that its €2.7 billion infrastructure upgrade will justify the fees to regulators and travelers. Ryanair is betting the opposite — that passengers will punish secondary airports and tourism-dependent businesses until Aena relents. Neither position is without merit, which is why the standoff is unlikely to resolve quickly.

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Like its recent Billund base closure prompted by high taxes, Ryanair now blames Aena fees for slashing 1.2 million seats to Spain.

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