Rival budget airline Wizz Air has stated that Spain’s airport fees aren’t as high as Ryanair has claimed during an ongoing battle with airport operators, opening the door to some of the million seats cuts by the Irish airline being replaced.
Low-cost airlines are already swooping in to try and capitalise on Ryanair cutbacks in Spain amid the company’s war of words with Aena, the national airport operator.
The dominant Irish airline has been locked in a battle of words with Spanish airports, demanding that the Spanish government — which owns 51 percent of Aena — lower airport charges at regional airports. In response the company has reduced or eliminated operations at several airports across the country, meaning a loss of almost a million seats in the Spanish market.
But Hungarian airline Wizz Air has announced up to 17 new routes and challenged the idea of Spanish fees being excessive, claiming that “the fares in Spain are competitive with respect to other European bases.”
READ ALSO: Ryanair threatens to cut a million more seats to Spain by summer 2026
Andras Rado, Wizz Air’s communications director, told the media that “rates can always be lower in any country, but if we increase our offer in Spain it means that for us they’re fine.”
The rival airline plans, in fact, to “take advantage” of Ryanair’s cutbacks at smaller and regional airports, and to “increase frequencies and add new routes” as part of its growth plan in the country.
As of September, the company operates in 16 Spanish airports and offers more than 120 routes to 15 countries, with Barcelona-El Prat airport being its main market, with 26 routes to 15 countries. The Barcelona-Bucharest route is the most popular of its offerings.
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Wizz Air traffic in Spain is already growing. At Madrid-Barajas it has had more than 5,000 flights so far this year (up 17.8 percent compared to 2024) and more than 1.1 million passengers transported (a 23.6 percent increase).
READ ALSO: All the flight routes to Spain that Ryanair will axe by winter
Rado added that “Spain is a strategic market for Wizz Air, and the growth recorded in recent years is clear evidence of our commitment to the country.”
“We want to continue to build on our strong network, investing in more efficient operations and offering passengers reliable and affordable travel options tailored to their needs. We are here to stay, to continue growing and to be ever closer to the Spanish people.”
From next winter (starting at the end of October and ending at the end of March) Wizz Air has scheduled 17 new routes, including from Belgrade, Skopje, and Gdansk to Madrid; from Bratislava, Warsaw and Larnaca (Cyprus) to Barcelona; from Tirana and Bratislava to Málaga, and from Iași (Romania) and Venice to Valencia.
In addition, the low-cost airline is also planning new routes for next summer from Valencia, Bilbao, Barcelona and Madrid to London Luton, as well as from Skopje and Gdansk to Madrid.
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Ryanair has been in a bitter dispute with Aena over airport fees and the Irish airline has said that it could cut a further million seats on flights to Spain next summer if the Spanish airport operator doesn’t reduce its charges.
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary made the warning in a recent interview with the Financial Times, in which he said he would return to Madrid in two weeks to “probably” announce the elimination of another million seats for summer 2026.
This would be on top of the 800,000 seats on flights to Spain cut this summer and the million seats already cancelled for the upcoming winter season in protest against Aena’s 6.5 percent fee increase.
The airline is demanding that the Spanish government — which owns 51 percent of Aena — lower airport charges at regional airports.
READ ALSO: Ryanair to scrap 36 flight routes to Spain
