Ryanair plans major seat cuts on Spanish routes amid rising airport fees

Eddie Wilson has repeatedly criticized Aena’s pricing strategy. He contends that even though there is a government-imposed freeze on airport charges until 2026, Aena continues to raise fees annually—especially at smaller regional airports that have not fully recovered from the pandemic.

Aena responded in January 2025 by defending its fee structure and commercial incentives. The company denied Ryanair's claims regarding its fees and role in Spanish regional operations. In a statement, Aena highlighted that Ryanair invests primarily in aircraft rather than making direct investments into European airports.

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary also addressed wider issues concerning aviation taxes across Europe on August 27, 2025. According to Europa Press, O’Leary called on the European Union to lower environmental taxes and suggested rewarding countries that do so with more flight routes. He also advocated for reforming the EU’s aviation emissions compensation system, arguing that current policies disadvantage European airlines compared with non-EU competitors. O’Leary said he would add new routes for countries reducing environmental taxes—including Albania, Hungary, and Sweden—and reduce service to those increasing such taxes like Belgium.

In other developments affecting Ryanair’s operations, Boeing has advanced delivery dates for 25 Boeing 737 MAX 8200 aircraft destined for the airline from early 2026 to October 2025. This update was first reported by Reuters. Ryanair’s current fleet includes nearly 400 Boeing 737-800s and almost 190 Boeing 737 MAX 8200s according to ch-aviation data.

Speaking about these accelerated deliveries during an announcement in Brussels, O’Leary said: “the quality of what they're delivering is excellent, so we're really impressed,” adding that these planes “give us a bit more capacity, and we feed that capacity by lowering airfares.”

Ryanair operates as a low-cost carrier based out of Dublin Airport with additional hubs at London Stansted and Milan Bergamo airports. Founded in Ireland in 1985 as part of the Ryanair Group under CEO Eddie Wilson (IATA code FR; ICAO code RYR), it remains one of Europe’s most prominent budget airlines.