Ryanair says it is cutting 80% of its capacity at its Alicante base in Spain from October.

06:06 El NACHO 0 Comments

Ryanair says it is cutting 80% of its capacity at its Alicante base in Spain from October. The airline says this is due to the AENA Alicante airport's decision to force it to use airbridges and pay over €2m a year for what it called the 'unnecessary facilities'.
Ryanair says it will cut its aircraft based at the airport from 11 to two while it will also cut 31 routes, including services from Cork, Kerry, Knock and Derry. It will also cut the frequency of other services - including the Dublin route. This will see the weekly number of flights to Alicante fall to less than 200 from over 600.
The airline says the use of the airbridges will delay its turnarounds - as passengers can use only the front door of the plane - and will also lead to more handling delays.
Ryanair has submitted a formal complaint on the matter to both the Spanish government and the European Commission.
Despite the cuts, Ryanair will continue to be the biggest airline at Alicante. 'AENA Alicante must understand that Ryanair is an efficient, low cost carrier, and we have many other low cost airport alternatives across Europe if Alicante doesn't want to provide low cost facilites,' commented the airline's chief executive Michael O'Leary.
He added that if the airport reverses the decision, the cuts in routes, traffic and jobs can also be reversed.