Rival airlines step in to fill the gap as Ryanair slashes Spain flights this winter

Travellers planning holidays to Spain’s sunny shores, buzzing cities and historic sites may soon notice fewer Ryanair options on booking sites.

The low-cost giant is scaling back services, cutting close to two million seats and warning of more reductions to come if a planned rise in airport charges moves ahead in Spain.

But Ryanair’s retreat isn’t slamming the door shut on low-cost flights to Spain. Instead, it has left the door open for competitors, who are racing to fill the gap.

Ryanair battles the Spanish government

Earlier this month, Ryanair announced that it will reduce its Spanish network by 16 per cent this winter. Its Santiago base will close immediately, while flights to Vigo and Tenerife Norte are set to be suspended from January 2026. Routes from Asturias, Santander, Zaragoza and Vitoria will also see reductions.

The airline had already cut 800,000 seats over the summer before cutting one million more in September. The total could rise to nearly three million next year if Spain’s state-owned airport operator Aena goes ahead with a 6.5 per cent fee increase.

“I’m due back in Madrid in two weeks and will probably announce another million seats to be cancelled next summer,” Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary told the Financial Times. The airline has criticised Aena’s hikes as “excessive and uncompetitive.”

Spanish officials have pushed back. Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente called out the airline in parliament earlier this month. “Ryanair complains about a fee increase of €0.68 per ticket, yet they have raised ticket prices by 21 per cent this year,” he said, claiming that “it is untrue that they are leaving airports due to a lack of profitability.”

Low-cost rivals expand

As the low-cost carrier cuts its services, however, other European airlines have announced plans to replace them.

Spanish airline Vueling, part of the International Airlines Group (IAG) that owns British Airways and Iberia, among others, will operate almost 1.5 million seats to Spain this winter. That includes a 15 per cent increase in seats from Santiago and an 11 per cent rise from Tenerife Norte compared with last year.

More than 578,000 seats will be available from Santiago and nearly 900,000 from Tenerife. An extra aircraft will join the fleet in Santiago from mid-December, too. The airline will add 28 weekly flights to destinations including Barcelona, Mallorca and Málaga, while Tenerife Norte will gain 25 extra weekly services to Valencia, Alicante and Barcelona.

Iberia Express and Binter are also increasing their schedules, while Volotea and Wizz Air are moving to take over some of Ryanair’s vacated slots.

Wizz Air plans to launch 40 new routes from Spain by March 2026. Together, Vueling, Iberia Express and Binter alone will add more than 430,000 seats compared with last winter.

Tourism demand shows no signs of slowing

The reshuffle comes as Spain’s tourism industry is setting new records.

The country welcomed 11 million international visitors in July – the most in a single month in its history. Arrivals reached 55.5 million in the first seven months of 2025, while spending soared past €76 billion.

As Spain’s industry expands, the UK remains its biggest market. Through the first seven months of 2025, nearly 6 million British tourists visited Spain, an increase of 4.6 per cent from the same period in 2024.

The Canary Islands are a particular hotspot, recording more than 1.6 million British visitors between January and July.

UK airlines have sought to serve this market by adding capacity.

Data from aviation analytics firm Cirium shows August 2025 will set a record for UK-Europe flights, with almost 12 million seats available. Low-cost carrier Jet2, which brought 2.4 million travellers from the UK to the Canaries in 2024, will boost capacity by 8 per cent this summer, including new routes from Bournemouth and London Luton.

What does Ryanair’s reduction mean for travellers?

For passengers, the sharpest impact will be at regional Spanish airports, where Ryanair has withdrawn the largest share of capacity.

But on the busiest routes to Spain’s cities and islands, rivals are stepping in fast – meaning holidaymakers will still have plenty of ways to reach the Spanish sun, even if prices creep upwards.