Majorca panic as Ryanair cuts 1 million flight seats as tourists abandon island

Ryanair is set to cut one million seats in Spain for next winter, sparking panic in the likes of Majorca and Menorca. It comes as the Spanish airport authority Aena has decided to increase airport charges by a shocking 6.62% next year, resulting in the highest level of charges Spanish airports have seen in a decade.

The budget airline condemned Aena's decision, which was made despite airports reaching record passenger numbers and the air navigation manager hitting monopoly profits. In a statement, Ryanair said that CNMC, the Spanish regulator responsible for enforcing competition law, must reject the unjustified and damaging increase ahead of the 2025/2026 winter schedule being finalised in the coming weeks.

It added: "If Aena is allowed to continue increasing its already uncompetitive charges, Ryanair will have no choice but to drastically reduce the number of seats and routes it operates to regional Spain."

In response to the increases announced by Aena a few weeks ago, Ryanair has cut nearly one million seats at Spanish regional airports. Spain has around 49 commercial airports, and last year, the country welcomed 94 million international visitors.

Ryanair flies to over 20 airports including popular tourist destination Palma de Majorca (PMI) which handled a record 33.3 million passengers in 2024.

Majorca has already seen a fall in tourists as a result of rising prices and anti-tourism campaigns. However, this situation could drive the fall even further.

Eddie Wilson, Ryanair's CEO, said in an interview with Europa Press that the company has taken this decision in view of the "indifference" of the Spanish Government, which is permitting regional infrastructure to "deteriorate and be underused", reports Majorca Daily Bulletin.

He added: "We are going to invest where we can get a return."

Ryanair is pushing for Spain to reform the management of Aena, which is 51% state-owned. It is also pressuring the country to improve the competitiveness of regional airports, which it claims are already "almost 70% empty due to a failed tariff structure."

Airport operator Aena will be increasing the fees by 2026 to €11.03 (£9.51) per passenger, which Ryanair has described as "unjustified and harmful", as it represenst the "highest level in a decade", despite Aena reaching its highest profits and passenger numbers.

As a result of the situation Ryanair's CEO confirmed that the next week the company will announce a major cut in seats at regional airports for next winter. The airports affected and the exact number of seats will be revealed at a press conference to be given by the executive in Madrid on Wednesday, September 3.