Low cost carrier Ryanair has announced it is slashing one million seats from the Spanish market this coming winter in response to what it called a “shameless” fee hike announced by the airport operator Aena. Aena’s CEO Maurici Lucena responded by accusing Ryanair of “self-righteousness”, “rudeness”, “blackmail” and greed, as the long-running conflict between the largest airline in Spain by passenger numbers and the operator of most of the country’s commercial airports escalated. Ryanair has once again confirmed it will shift capacity from the Spanish market to Croatia. However, the carrier has yet to unveil any new routes from Croatia for the upcoming 2025/26 winter season or the 2026 summer schedule.
Over the past month, Ryanair officials have visited both Zagreb and Dubrovnik, following earlier visits to Rijeka this summer. For the upcoming 2025/26 winter season, which runs from October 26 to March 28, the airline has scheduled 690.282 seats on the Croatian market. This represents a 9.4% increase compared to last winter, or an additional 59.070 seats. The growth is primarily driven by frequency increases on existing routes.
Next year, Ryanair will enter the fifth and final year of the Growth Incentive Model it has benefited from at its Zagreb base. To maintain its incentives, the airline must add at least 75.000 departing passengers during the year, with the potential for further discounts if it surpasses 150.000 additional departing passengers per year. This provides Ryanair with a strong incentive to increase its traffic out of the Croatian capital each year.
Ryanair’s decision to reduce its operations in Spain over a 6.5% fee increase announced by Aena for 2026 will result in the closure of Valladolid and Jerez airports. The low cost carrier said it would cut capacity in regional airports in the peninsula by 600.000 seats and in the Canary Islands by 400.000 seats between late October and late March. That represents 16% of its traffic at regional airports.
