Ryanair issues fresh blow for Brits heading to Canary Islands as it cancels flights

Ryanairwill close its Santiago base and cancel all flights to Vigo and Tenerife North, as its cull of Spanish routes continues.

At the end of August, the budget airline announced plans to slash its capacity on routes to and from Spain, removing a million seats in the upcoming winter season. It has claimed the wide-scale cuts are in response to the country's airport operator Aena announcing it wants to increase passenger fees by 6.5% in 2026.

This is despite the fact that - unlike almost all other forms of transport - European airlines pay no tax on jet fuel, despite flying being one of the most polluting ways of getting around. By some estimates, this tax break is worth £7.5billion a year in the UK alone.

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Today, in a press conference, Ryanair bosses released further details of those plans. It will close its Santiago base and cancel all flights to Vigo and Tenerife North. At the same time, it will keep its Valladolid and Jerez bases closed and reduce capacity in Asturias, Santander, Zaragoza, and the Canary Islands this winter,Europa Press reported.

The cuts are part of Ryanair's plan to reduce its capacity by 41% in the Spanish regions and by 10% in the Canary Islands this winter. Eddie Wilson, CEO of Ryanair, warned that this would lead to a "a loss of investment, connectivity, tourism, and employment in regional Spain, as many routes will be economically unviable."

All flights to Vigo will stop in January next year, and to Tenerife North from the start of the Winter 2025 season. Capacity to Zaragoza will be slashed by 45%, Santander by 38%, Asturias 16% and Vitoria by 2%. When culling is over, Ryanair will have scrapped 36 routes to and from Spain.

At the same time, Ryanair is planning to introduce two million more seats on routes to Italy, Morocco, Croatia and Albania.

Canarian Weekly reported that the announcement had “sparked concern”, but added that the airline intends to “continue growth in major airports including Madrid, Barcelona, Málaga, and those in the Balearics and Canary Islands.”

“For residents and tourists in the Canary Islands, the immediate impact is less severe than in mainland Spain. Ryanair continues to grow at the main airports in Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura," the newspaper reported. Similarly Majorca Daily Bulletin emphasised Ryanair’s plans to “keep backing big hubs where demand is strong” such as the Balearics.

Ryanair reported a 2% increase in passenger numbers last month as it expanded capacity. The Dublin-based airline announced that it carried 21.0 million passengers in August, an increase from 20.5 million during the same period last year.

Its load factor – the percentage of seats filled on flights – remained steady at 96%. Over the past 12 months leading up to the end of August, the airline's passenger numbers grew by 6% to 203.6 million. Meanwhile, Wizz Air reported carrying 6.9 million passengers last month, marking an 11% increase from 6.2 million in August 2024, with a load factor of 95%.