Ryanair has thousands of flights to Spain in a row over airport fees.
The airline said “excessive” fees imposed by Spanish airport operator Aena provoked the move as the budget air aircraft with aviation officials.
Ryanair will stop flying to the airports in southern Jerez and northern Valladolid, withdrawing one plane in Santiago and reducing traffic at five other airports.
Aena has criticized the airline that comes up with the flights and accused Ryanair of ‘extortion’ and try to force the operator to give free access to its airports, the Telegraph Reports.
‘Unfortunately, it’s Ryanair’s modus operandi. In many countries we have seen it for years: threats, half -truths, lies … “Aena’s president said in a statement.
“I honestly believe that they have crossed the Rubicon of respect, good faith and the most basic cases and institutional courtesy.”
Ryanair has announced that it will reduce traffic in Spain by 18 percent, and would cut about 800,000 seats and 12 routes due to Aena’s ‘excessive airport cost’, which he believes is harming local Spanish airports and limiting their growth.
It is not known whether UK flights will be under the cuts.
Ryanair has thousands of flights to Spain in a row over airport fees (file image of Ryanair aircraft in Spain)
This comes after the Budget Airline was handed over an £ 90m fine last year by the Ministry of Consumer Rights of Spain over an ‘abusive practice’, such as raising excessive bag fees and other extra costs, the Telegraph reports.
Michael O’Leary, CEO of Ryanair Global, returned and told Spanish media that ‘crazy Communist Minister’ Pablo Bustinduy believed that passengers’ ‘can wear all the luggage they want’, which O’Leary said ‘they could’ they could not’.
Aena said the fees amounted to £ 8.60 per passenger at most airports in Spain, with the operator dropping the price at 17 local airports to just £ 1.66 per passenger to make them more attractive destinations for airlines.
It is alleged that the fees made the cheapest in Europe, but Ryanair said it was ‘false’ that operators in Italy and Poland, which according to the offer are even cheaper options.
Ryanair, who cuts all flights to Valladolid, means that only one airline, binter canarias, still serves the small airport and offers a flight to Gran Canaria twice a week.
The airline will reduce traffic to Vigo by 61 percent, to Santiago by 28 percent, to Zaragoza by 20 percent, to Asturias by 11 percent and this summer by five percent by five percent.
Santander, Santiago and Vigo are served by Ryanair of London Stansted, with Santiago flying from Manchester and Edinburgh, but it is not clear whether any of these routes are affected by the cut.
Ryanair is the only airline flying from the UK to Santander, so that cancellations would result in limited access to travelers.
This comes after Ryanair was handed over a £ 90m fine last year by the Ministry of Consumer Rights of Spain over ‘abusive practices’, such as charging excessive bag fees and other extra costs (file image)
“Anyone who relies on these routes, whether trying to get off the track or avoiding in Spain is likely to be disappointed,” Rhys Jones, who works on the Aviation Travel website for points, to The Telegraph said.
The move could also lead to increased flight prices at the affected airports, as competition drops and customers can be forced to travel via more expensive and ‘complicated’ indirect routes.
But the move of Ryanair did not result in Aena supporting.
‘Aena urges Ryanair to calm and abandon its longtime and loudly well-known thoughtful, aggressive and threatening business and communication strategy, which is very difficult not to interpret as an attempt to Aena, the region, The region and finally, to press the Spanish public, ‘the operator said in a statement.
This comes after Eddie Wilson, CEO of Ryanair, spurred the Spain’s National Authority for Markets and Competition To cancel Aena’s 2024 fee in 2024 to align them with the government’s five -year fee on the cost.
“Without urgent action, Spain runs the risk of losing further capacity and investment to more competitive markets, leaving the airports half empty, while Spain’s competitors thrive,” he said in a statement.
