Goodbye to Bologna and Venice flights: this is how Ryanair’s cuts will affect Zaragoza

Ryanair’s decision to cut 20% of its service at Zaragoza airport has taken many users by surprise, who were already planning trips in the coming months or who had even bought their tickets. With the arrival of the summer season, Zaragoza will no longer have flights such as Bologna or Treviso (Venice) and other routes will be cut, such as the one to Paris. 

his decision is the result of the airline’s conflict with Aena over port taxes that they consider “excessive” and “the lack of effectiveness of incentives to support the Government’s policy of growth of regional airports.” 

THIS IS HOW THE CANCELLATION OF FLIGHTS TO BOLOGNA AND VENICE FROM ZARAGOZA WILL AFFECT

With the elimination of the routes to Bologna and Venice from the summer of 2025, Zaragoza will lose 60,000 seats and the possibility of travelling on a direct flight to these Italian cities. Therefore, those Aragonese who wish to visit these towns will have to travel to other nearby airports such as Madrid or Barcelona. 

On the other hand, the route to Paris will reduce its schedules and days of departure. These measures are part of the policy of cuts throughout the country, which will involve the elimination of 12 flights and 800,000 seats in seven national airports. 

Despite the announcement, the cancelled routes and the cut flights are still available on Ryanair’s website. However, the airline has not yet specified how it will handle tickets purchased by users before the announcement. 

LOSSES AT OTHER REGIONAL AIRPORTS

The potential losses faced by Zaragoza are not the most significant, as the low-cost company will cease operations in Jerez and Valladolid, withdraw an aircraft based in Santiago de Compostela (100 million dollars less investment) and will operate 61% in Vigo and 28% in the aforementioned Santiago. Likewise, Asturias will suffer a cut of 11% and Santander of 5%, as detailed in a statement.

“If AENA’s regional airports fail to be competitive compared to their European counterparts, air traffic will tend to move away from Spanish regions . AENA’s decision has forced Ryanair to relocate aircraft and capacity to more competitive European markets, such as Italy, Sweden, Croatia, Hungary and Morocco, where governments are actively encouraging growth,” they point out. These cuts will not impact other airports such as Madrid, Malaga, Alicante or Reus, where the offer will increase by 1.5 million seats for the summer season.

For its part, AENA criticizes Ryanair for justifying with the fees a readjustment of routes that are already being carried out in other European airport bases. “The average rate that airlines will pay Aena for airport services from March 1 of this year will remain frozen at 10.35 euros per passenger. This rate is one of the lowest in Europe. With this same average rate, the company increased its activity in 2024 in Spanish airports by 8.7%, so the airline transported 66 million passengers,” they explained.