Ryanair cuts 700,000 seats and 12 European holiday routes while summer fuel deadline is issued
Ryanair has issued a holiday blow right across Europe with the announcement it is cutting 700,000 seats across its aircraft.
With the decision impacting a total of 12 routes across the continent, it'll see the closure of two of its airport desks.
It comes as Ryanair CEO, Michael O'Leary, has issued a separate warning about travel across the continent as the Iran War and Strait of Hormuz impasse continues, causing sky-rocketing prices for fuel.
Announced last week, Ryanair is officially cutting its three aircraft from Thessaloniki, Greece, impacting travel right across the country and Europe. There are also reductions in place at Athens Airport for the upcoming winter of 2026, with the overall loss being around 700,000 seats for inbound and outbound flights.
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Describing the decision as 'devastating' for off-peak winter travel, Ryanair said it was a result of the 'hopelessly uncompetitive costs charged at the German-run Fraport Greece monopoly and Athens Airport'.
What Ryanair routes are impacted?
Ryanair are no longer flying the following 12 routes:
- Thessaloniki to Berlin
- Thessaloniki to Chania
- Thessaloniki Frankfurt-H
- Thessaloniki Gothenburg
- Thessaloniki Heraklion
- Thessaloniki Niederrhein
- Thessaloniki Poznan
- Thessaloniki Stockholm
- Thessaloniki Venice-T
- Thessaloniki Zagreb
- Athens to Milan-M
- Chania to Paphos
As well as these 12 routes, Ryanair is shutting its winter airport operations at Chania and Heraklion on the Greek island of Crete altogether.
Why is Ryanair pulling out of Crete this winter?
Ryanair's statement said that the company presented 'an ambitious growth plan to the Greek Government to grow traffic to 12m passengers per annum (+70%), base 10 additional aircraft (+$1 billion incremental investment) and launch 50 new routes over the next five years'.
But the company said it could only do this if airport charges were to be frozen, as well as the 75% Airport Development Fee reduction passed on to passengers at all airports.
"Regrettably, Greece will continue to miss out on investment opportunities, tourism and traffic development until Fraport Greece and Athens abandon their shameless practice of pocketing this tax cut," Ryanair said.
Airlines 'face bankruptcy' over Iran War fuel crisis
Speaking last week, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary - who has also spoken out about a potential ban on the beloved airport pint - stated that some airlines may disappear altogether due to the Strait of Hormuz blockade seeing the price of fuel skyrocket.
"European airlines could face bankruptcy if jet fuel prices, which have surged from around $80 to $150 per barrel following the Strait of Hormuz blockade, remain elevated through the summer months," he told CNBC.
"We think a number of our airline competitors in Europe are going to face real financial difficulties."
O'Leary didn't say which airlines he thought might be impacted by this.
Will Ryanair flights be cancelled?
We obviously don't know for sure. But Ryanair has been bullish about its position overall, with 80 percent of its jet fuel hedged until March 2027.
In layman's terms, this means it has agreed in advance how much it will pay for its jet fuel until this date, with the price agreed at £67 per barrel, which is way below the heights caused by the Hormuz blockade.
"We do not plan any cuts to our schedule this summer," a spokesperson has said.
Topics: Travel, Ryanair, World News
Tom Earnshaw