Isabel Díaz Ayuso and the CEO of Ryanair, Eddi Wilson, were in agreement this Tuesday when it came to criticizing the government of Pedro Sánchez for the pricing policy of Aena, the state company that manages the Spanish airport network. Wilson highlighted Madrid as a competitive place compared to “some that are not”, referring to regional airports in which it has canceled 1.2 million seats for next summer due to the 6.5% increase in air fares by 2026. The central government assures that the increase will come after years of frozen fares and with the intention of continuing to offer a good service to travellers. “Ryanair will continue to grow in Spain because it suits them and makes money, but we will not accept their blackmail,” said Óscar Puente, transport minister.
This year Ryanair threatened to drastically reduce the number of flights due to this fare increase and has done so. This number of posts has been reduced by up to three million in just one year, if other previous cuts are taken into account. Warfare is evident among Irish airline executives low cost and Sánchez’s ministers. The most outspoken in denouncing the socialist government was David Simón, the airline’s director of public relations for Spain and Portugal. “While others have laid stones, Madrid has always been willing to recognize Ryanair’s role,” he said.
Ayuso has positioned himself unequivocally on the company’s side. Just this morning he inaugurated a training center for Ryanair pilots in Madrid, an event in which he regretted that due to this dispute “dozens of direct and indirect jobs are being closed; sticks are being put in the engines”. Political decisions “must be taken with great caution,” he stressed. “We are not aware of the damage they can create,” he continued. For the president, Ryanair is “something more” than an airline that operates in Spanish airports. “It is an exceptional partner in the development of territorial cohesion and tourism in Spain. All citizens benefit from it, we must think about the common good. (…) And not in political calculations”, added Ayuso.
The fare increase has passed the filter of the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) and will come into force in March 2026. Ryanair described the public carrier’s decision as “unjustified and harmful”. Ayuso took advantage of this speech to highlight Madrid as a region where investments, bureaucracy and affordable prices coexist in better harmony.
Pedro Sánchez’s government has stood firm in the face of what it considers the “arbitrary” demands of a single company. Jordi Hereu, Minister of Industry and Tourism, underlined at the time that Spain is a great tourism power “thanks to its air connectivity and the quality of the network managed by Aena”. “This asset must continue to be maintained, and this means rational tariffs, which have been frozen for years and which Aena needs to continue to maintain the quality of the airport infrastructure.”
On the other hand, the president used numbers to justify his siding with the company. According to the data presented, the airline has invested more than 11,000 million euros in the country. It is responsible, he added, for more than 376,000 jobs directly or indirectly and contributes 27 billion euros to the national economy.
Ryanair’s policy is not to take a step back. The company low cost has reduced the number of seats or stopped operating at airports such as Santiago de Compostela, Jerez de la Frontera, Vitoria, Asturias, Valladolid, Tenerife North and Vigo, among others. Far from being intimidated by the 105 million fine that the Ministry of Consumer Affairs imposed on it for having unduly charged its travelers for hand luggage, it increased the bonus to its employees to 2.5 euros for each one they detect not complying with the measures. Together with Ayuso, he is putting pressure on the government to back down.
