Ryanair forced to scrap thousands of flights this summer

RYANAIR has confirmed that they are to cancel 800,000 seats across 12 routes this summer - affecting thousands of flights.

The budget airline said they would be reducing its capacity across a number of airports in Spain with some route axed entirely.

Depending on the aircraft, Ryanair flights carry around 228 passengers - meaning thousands of flights in Spain will be scrapped.

These include both domestic Spanish routes and international flights with the airline.

Operations will be reduced at Vigo, Santiago de Compostela, Zaragoza, Santander and the airport of Asturias.

The low-cost airline will scrap all of its flights in both Jerez and Valladolid, impacting British holidaymakers as a route operates from London Stansted to Jerez.

Ryanair blamed "excessive fees" at airports in Spain for its move to reduce and axe flights.

Airport fees in Spain, which are decided by state-owned Aena, have been frozen in the country since the Covid-19 pandemic.

The current fees are some of the lowest airport fees in Europe, averaging €10.35 (£8.74) per passenger.

However, Ryanair DAC CEO Eddie Wilson, said: "AENA’s excessive airport charges and lack of viable incentives for growth continue to harm Spain’s regional airports, limiting their growth and leaving huge areas of airport capacity unused."

Last year, Ryanair increased its activity in Spain by roughly 8.7 per cent.

The budget airline said they would instead move some of the aircraft operating in Spain to other countries where "governments encourage growth" such as Italy, Sweden, Croatia, Hungary and Morocco.

Ryanair flies from London Stansted to Zaragoza and Asturias and from Birmingham, Edinburgh, Stansted and Manchester to Santander.

It is not yet known whether any of these routes will be affected by the cuts, Sun Online Travel have contacted Ryanair for confirmation.

Last year, the low-cost airline threatened to scrap flights from 10 airports in France in 2025.

In November, the airline's commercial officer, Jason McGuinness, revealed the airline was reviewing its schedule in response to a proposed tax hike by the French government.

The news came after the French government announced it was considering a move to triple taxes on airline tickets and private jets.

At the time, Ryanair responded to the proposed measure.

McGuinness said the following in a statement: "Ryanair is now reviewing its French schedules and expects to cut capacity to/from regional French airports by up to 50 percent from January 2025 if the French government proceeds with its short-sighted plan to triple passenger taxes".

Last year, Ryanair pulled its services from Bordeaux Airport in a separate dispute over airport fees.

The news comes after Ryanair boss, Michael O'Leary, warned hundreds of UK flights could be scrapped following the autumn budget.

In the budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced flights across the continent will now incur £15 of duty charges - increasing it by £2.

As a result of the rise in Air Passenger Duty (APD), holidaymakers planning on heading off to much-loved destinations could soon struggle to book Ryanair flights.

At the time, Ryanair boss Mr O'Leary said the airline would look to cut UK capacity by as much as 10 per cent next year.

This is the equivalent of a reduction of around five million passengers.

Earlier this year, Ryanair launched its first-ever flights to Turkey.

Having previously operated routes to Turkey from Dublin and Bratislava, the airline will now operate from London Stansted.