Ryanair threatens to reduce flights in Spain due to airport 'excessive' taxes

The Irish low-cost airline Ryanair criticized Spain's airport manager, Aena, for proposing a 2026 airport tax increase of around 6.5%.

Ryanair claims the increase is "excessive, unjustified, and harmful." Which is why it is calling to rethink the idea under the threat of reducing the number of flights to and from Spain.

The company is urging Spain's CNMC market regulator to refuse the measure. Ryanair also criticized the Spanish government for its "passivity" despite being the company's major shareholder.

"If Aena is allowed to continue increasing its already very few competitive taxes, Ryanair will not have any other choice but to drastically reduce the number of seats and routes offered to regional Spain," a company statement reads.

The text adds that the "failed tax system pushes to not taking advantage of already existing infrastructures designed to support local economies."

For this reason, unless the proposed airport tax increase is stopped, the Irish airline states that regional airports will be the most affected, even more than they are now, as "almost 70% of them are empty" due to Aena's tax policies.

If nothing changes, Ryanair will have to "immediately rethink" its capacity at regional airports for the winter season, as "many routes will become commercially unviable."

Based on Ryanair's data shared on its website, the government tax charged per person per flight varies between Albania's €1, €2 for flights over 500 kilometers within the EEA, the UK, or Switzerland departing from Belgium, and Finland's €0.9. 

The Netherlands charges €29.40 per person and flight, while Spain and Italy offer different taxes depending on the airport. Based on Ryanair data, Barcelona El Prat charges €17.60 for flights to International EEA airport flights, and €20.39 for non-EEA airport flights.

Aena approved increasing the taxes on Tuesday, with a minimum annual income of €11.03 per passenger, representing a 68-cents increase compared to figures from 2025.

Out of these 68 cents, Aena claims that 45 cents are due to delayed taxes not implemented in 2024.