Ryanair will cut its service at Barcelona Airport by 5% this winter.

BarcelonaIn its battle with Aena, Ryanair will also reduce its service to Barcelona during the winter season, breaking with the growth forecasts of other airlines. The cuts at El Prat are a consequence of the elimination of flights to regional Spanish airports and the Canary Islands, which the Irish airline announced after learning of the situation. The airport manager's intention to raise fees by 2026.

"These adjustments are part of the cuts that have been made at regional airports; Ryanair has been forced to remove one million seats because it was economically unviable to operate certain routes with the current Aena fee system for these facilities and with the excessive increase," said sources from the airline, the largest in Spain by number of passengers and the second largest at Barcelona airport.

The most significant impacts will occur with the closure of the Santiago base and the cancellation of all flights to Vigo and Tenerife North. Capacity will also be reduced at the airports of Zaragoza, Santander, Asturias, and Vitoria, in addition to the closure of Valladolid and Jerez. Other low-cost carriersSuch as the Catalan companies Vueling and Volotea, and the Hungarian company Wizz Air, are taking advantage of Ryanair's decision to establish strong positions in the locations that the company led by Michael O'Leary is abandoning.

This is not the first time Ryanair has taken this decision; it already did something similar last summer, when it eliminated 800,000 seats and stopped operating in Jerez and Valladolid. Its CEO has already threatened to cut a million more for next summer. It has also made the same moves in other markets such as France, Germany, and Austria.

With the intense wave of investment planned for the coming years, which include projects such as the expansion of El PratAt the end of July, Aena approved the largest increase in airport charges in the last ten years, one of the factors that determine airline ticket prices. Starting in March 2026, the listed company plans to charge another 68 cents per passenger, or 6.5%, up to a maximum of €11.03 per traveler.

"Aena's airport charges are extraordinarily competitive and much lower than those of other comparable European operators," the airport manager emphasizes. This opinion is not shared by Ryanair, which believes that Spanish regional airports "are falling behind other countries such as Italy, Sweden, Poland, or Morocco, which are reducing access costs and attracting traffic, tourism, and employment to their regions."

The Spanish government has not saved. the criticisms Ryanair. Transport Minister Óscar Puente accused the low-cost airline of blackmail and extortion and of using fallacies to justify itself. This criticism was echoed by Consumer Affairs Minister Pablo Bustinduy, who has been a direct target of the airline's criticism. after the €107 million fine for abusive practicesBustinduy has criticized themodus operandiRyanair has also denounced the strategy, claiming it relies on threats, blackmail, and extortion, in addition to "treating Spanish consumers very badly."

Despite the 5% reduction at El Prat Airport, also planned for Barajas Airport, Ryanair maintains that it "will continue to grow at large airports, albeit more moderately." The Irish airline plans to present its full schedule for the winter season at Barcelona Airport in a few weeks. With 64 aircraft based in the Catalan capital, last season it offered 64 routes, with new destinations in Copenhagen (Denmark), Tangier (Morocco), Reggio (Italy), and Glasgow (United Kingdom).