Aena, the world’s leading airport operator by number of passengers, responded to Ryanair’s announcement that it plans to cut operations in Spain by 18%, urging the airline to “calm down.”
Low-cost carrier Ryanair and airport operator Aena have been locked in a dispute over airport fees since January 17, 2025. The dispute began when the airline revealed it would reduce its operations in Spain for the summer of 2025, leading to the cancellation of 800,000 passenger seats and 12 routes across seven regional airports.
The airline said the decision is a result of excessive charges and “incentive plans” from Aena. Ryanair accused the operator of refusing to “use its regional airport structure to support Spanish regional investment, instead prioritizing investments in airports outside Spain.”
Aena responded to the airline’s accusations in a statement, asking the airline to “calm down” and “abandon its threatening business and communication strategy, which it is very difficult not to interpret as blackmail of Aena.”
The operator explained that Aena’s airport charges are based on Law 18/2014. The details of these charges are laid out in the Airport Regulation Document (DORA II) and are overseen by Spain’s National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC). Therefore, the statement said that “Aena does not deceive anyone.”
Aena also said that at the regional airports targeted by Ryanair, the airport fees paid by any airline are reduced to around €2 per passenger.
“Ryanair’s intention with its constant public pressure is simple: to use a large part of Spanish airports for free,” Aena’s statement continued.
The operator said that “Ryanair intends, surreptitiously and without any solid reason, to achieve a pure transfer of income to the pockets of the shareholders and managers of the airline.” Aena added that Ryanair’s demands could “violate Law 18/2014 and, therefore, be illegal.”
On the same day, Ryanair responded to Aena’s claims in a separate statement. The airline said that Aena has “repeatedly misled Ryanair and the Spanish people” about its fares.
Ryanair added that Aena has systematically “ignored the DGAC’s 2021 resolution, which stated that tariffs should remain frozen for five years” and “tried to apply successive annual increases, including the most recent one of more than 4%, which it imposed on airlines in 2024.”
Ryanair concluded by calling on the Spanish government “to break Aena’s monopoly and allow regional governments to effectively manage their airports, with the aim of increasing traffic, tourism and employment in the regions that Aena has abandoned for so long.”
