Ryanair is preparing significant route cuts across Europe in 2026, blaming rising airport fees, aviation taxes and air traffic control costs. The changes will affect popular destinations from Germany and Spain to France, Belgium and Portugal, with an estimated three million seats removed overall.
Despite a strong 2025, marked by winter schedule expansions and new routes, the airline says costs are now dictating where it flies.
Where flights are being cut
In Germany, Ryanair has already announced the removal of 24 routes for winter 2025–26, cutting nearly 800,000 seats. Airports such as Hamburg, Berlin, Cologne and Frankfurt-Hahn are affected, with Leipzig, Dresden and Dortmund remaining off the network throughout 2026.
Spain will also see deep reductions. Ryanair is pulling more than one million seats from regional airports, ending all flights to Asturias and Vigo, closing its Santiago de Compostela base, and scaling back routes to the Canaries. Disputes over airport charges and government fines are at the heart of the decision.
In France, higher aviation taxes led to 25 routes being cut this winter. While Bergerac will return in summer 2026, Ryanair has warned that more regional airports could lose services.
Belgium faces one of the biggest hits, with 20 routes and around one million seats removed from Brussels and Charleroi, following the introduction of a higher passenger tax.
In Portugal, all six Azores routes will be scrapped from March 2026, affecting around 400,000 passengers a year. Rising air traffic control fees and new travel taxes are cited as the main reasons.
Smaller reductions are also planned in Bosnia and Serbia, as aircraft are redeployed to higher-demand summer markets such as Croatia.
What this means for Cyprus travellers
While Cyprus routes have not been targeted so far, the wider cuts could reduce onward connections via European hubs and put pressure on fares, especially during peak travel periods. Ryanair has made clear that future capacity will go where costs are lowest, a message that may resonate beyond the markets already affected.
The airline says it could restore routes if governments lower fees and taxes. Until then, Europe’s biggest budget carrier is tightening its network.
Source: Euronews