Ryanair Cancels Millions of Seats on Flights to Spain and Other Holiday Hotspots

Routes to Spain, Portugal, Germany and Belgium Hit

Ryanair is cancelling millions of seats on routes to popular European holiday destinations, in a move that will make reaching Spain, Portugal, France, Germany and Belgium trickier — and likely more expensive — for travellers this year.

The airline says disagreements with airports over fees and charges have made some routes too expensive to keep running. Among the changes:

• Spain — Ryanair has pulled out of some airports and reduced services to the Canary Islands
• Belgium — 20 routes and one million seats scrapped for the upcoming winter due to new passenger taxes
• Germany — routes to Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne affected, with Ryanair complaining about "sky-high access costs"
• Portugal — route between Portugal and the Azores cancelled

Fewer Seats, Fewer Options

Fewer services means fewer planes with seats available. Holidaymakers will need to find alternative airlines and hope there's enough capacity to go around — at a time when the entire aviation industry is already under pressure.

O'Leary Warns of Further Cancellations

On top of the planned route cuts, CEO Michael O'Leary has warned that the jet fuel crisis could force even deeper reductions.

Speaking before the US-Iran ceasefire was announced, O'Leary told ITV:

"The Strait of Hormuz has been closed for 30 days. If it remains closed for 60 or 90 days, then we're all facing an unknown scenario. We are certainly looking at maybe having to cancel five percent to 10 percent of flights through May, June and July."

Any further cancellations wouldn't be chosen by the airlines but determined by which airports have supplies of jet fuel to keep planes moving.

Ceasefire Doesn't End the Problem

The IMF has warned that even if the fragile ceasefire holds, there will still be "ripple effects" as global reductions in oil and gas supply are felt worldwide. Prices have risen, costs have increased, and uncertainty does no good for making things cheaper.

Major airlines still have weeks of fuel supplies remaining, so there's no need to panic — but the outlook for summer travel is clearly more uncertain than usual.

What This Means for Expats and Holidaymakers

For British expats on the Costa Blanca, Costa del Sol and elsewhere in Spain who rely on Ryanair for cheap flights back to the UK, the combination of route cuts, reduced Canary Islands services and potential fuel-related cancellations is a concern. The advice remains: book early, check your routes, and consider travel insurance that covers cancellations.

This article is based on reporting from LADbible, published April 11, 2026. This article is for informational purposes only.