All the destinations Ryanair won’t fly to anymore in 2026
2025 has been a big year for Ryanair, with the European low-cost airline making key changes and announcements. The airline revealed that it is significantly expanding its winter schedule, particularly in the UK, Finland and Italy, and launching new routes including London to Murcia and Rovaniemi to the UK. It also revealed plans to increase passenger numbers and invest more in bases like Bologna.
On the other hand, there were also some challenges, such as persistent delays from Boeing, with Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary criticized the aviation company’s management for “running around like headless chickens”. The airline’s recent decision to phase out physical boarding passes also sparked significant backlash.
However, one of the most notable announcements was Ryanair’s decision to ax several routes next year, to major destinations such as SpainFrance, Germany, Belgium, Portugal and more.
The move could reduce around three million seats in total, while having a significant impact on connections and passenger comfort in smaller cities.
Here are all the locations that will be affected by Ryanair route cuts in 2026.
Which German routes will Ryanair cut in 2026?
In October 2025, Ryanair revealed it would cut 24 routes to and from Germany – a reduction of almost 800,000 places – for the Winter 2025/2026 program.
Nine airports have already been affected so far, including Hamburg, Berlin, Cologne, Memmingen, Frankfurt-Hahn, Dresden, Dortmund and Leipzig. Operations will remain suspended at Leipzig, Dresden and Dortmund airports in 2026 beyond the winter calendar.
However, details have not yet been released on which other airports may continue to be affected throughout the year.
Ryanair blamed the move on high air traffic control (ATC) and security costs, as well as high German airline taxes and numerous airport changes, accusing the government of hurting competitiveness.
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“Germany’s exorbitant access costs contrast sharply with those of countries like Ireland, Spain and Poland which do not have air taxes, or Sweden, Hungary and regional Italy, where air taxes are removed alongside reduced access costs to boost traffic, tourism, employment and economic recovery,” the airline said in a press release in October.
“As a result, Germany remains one of the most poorly recovered air traffic markets in Europe, operating at just 88% of pre-Covid levels. »
Ryanair also called on the German government to reverse its promises to lower air taxes, unlike other large EU countries.
Such taxes are partly put in place to account for the devastating climate impact of air travel and to encourage travelers to use greener modes of transport such as trains.
The airline also revealed that it plans to move its capacity out of Germany to other countries offering more affordable costs, while warning of possible further withdrawals and reductions, if the situation does not improve.
However, if the government resolves the above issues, the airline said it would be happy to increase capacity again.
Which Spanish routes will Ryanair cut in 2026?
Ryanair also announced the cancellation of its flights to Spain next year. After cutting around one million seats for its winter 2025 schedule, the airline will follow up with a capacity reduction of around 1.2 million seats compared to its summer 2026 schedule for regional Spain.
This includes stopping all flights to Asturias, as well as Vigo. The airline will also close its Santiago de Compostela base, while continuing to reduce capacity to Santander and Zaragoza and removing routes to the Canaries.
All flights have since been stopped Tenerife North this winter. The Jerez base, also closed this season, will remain closed in 2026. Likewise, all flights to Valladolid have been stopped, with the Ryanair base there having been closed since winter 2024.
Ongoing disagreements with Spanish airport operator Aena over steep increases in airport taxes and fees are behind the cuts, as well as what Ryanair claims are “illegal baggage fines” from the Spanish government – referring to the year 2024. repression on additional hand baggage fees.
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According to Ryanair, this makes Spanish regional airports less competitive than cheaper alternatives in Spain. Morocco and Italy, among others.
“Aena’s monopolistic approach to pricing involves small, underutilized regional airports charging similar rates to large, busy airports like Madrid, Barcelona, Palma and Malaga. As a result, Ryanair is shifting its seat capacity to these larger Spanish airports (where passenger demand and airfares are higher),” the airline said in a press release in October.
It also said it was moving to other lower-cost airports in Croatia, Morocco, Italy, Sweden and Albaniawhere governments reduced airport taxes and environmental taxes.
However, rival airlines such as Vueling, Binter, Iberia and Wizz Air have all filled the void left by Ryanair, which is likely to significantly reduce inconvenience for passengers, by offering many of the same routes.
Which routes will Ryanair cut in France next year?
France is also expected to be hit by Ryanair’s cuts in 2026. The airline has already cut 750,000 seats and 25 routes to France in winter 2025, after stopping all its services to Bergerac, Brive and Strasbourg. This is mainly explained by the increase in taxes on French airlines.
However, a few months after this decision, Ryanair announced in December that it would resume flights to Bergerac in summer 2026, following negotiations with French authorities, although services to Brive and Strasbourg remain suspended.
Despite this, Ryanair has warned that new French cancellations could be considered for 2026.
“Ryanair will leave French regional airports in the summer of 2026,” revealed the airline’s commercial director, Jason McGuinness, in the Parisian business magazine “Challenges”. However, no official details have yet been released on which other regional airports will be affected.
Which Belgian routes will Ryanair cut in 2026?
Ryanair will cut 20 routes and one million seats Brussels and Charleroi for its 2026/27 winter calendar.
As with other destinations, this is mainly due to a new Belgian air tax which will double the fare to €10 per passenger. In addition, Charleroi could also impose local taxes.
These changes affected destinations like Milan-Bergamo, Barcelona, Lisbon, Rome-Ciampino, Krakow and Majorcaamong others. The move reduces Ryanair’s Belgian capacity by around 22 percent, with the airline also withdrawing five planes from bases in Zaventem and Charleroi.
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“If the government really wants to revive the Belgian economy, it should abolish this harmful air tax to generate more traffic and tourism, not double it,” the airline said in a press release in early December.
“Ryanair is once again calling on Prime Minister De Wever and his government to abolish the air tax, otherwise Belgian traffic will collapse and prices will skyrocket, as they did in 2007. Austria and Germany, where governments have repeatedly increased access costs.
Which Ryanair routes are being canceled in Portugal?
Ryanair will ax its six routes to and from the Azores from the end of March next year, affecting around 400,000 travelers a year. This will represent a reduction of around 22 percent of Ryanair’s capacity in Portugal, impacting key cities like Porto and Lisbon Also.
This is also mainly due to higher air traffic control fees imposed by Portuguese operator ANA (Vinci), as well as European taxes such as the European Emissions Trading System (ETS), which targets short-haul flights to destinations like Azores and Madeira, while exempting longer routes.
A new travel tax of €2 in Portugal, which Ryanair considers counterproductive compared to other EU countries, has added to this phenomenon.
Portugal operational costs have also increased in recent months, with several strikes by airport staff also complicating the situation further.
“Unfortunately, the ANA monopoly has no plans to develop low-cost connectivity to the Azores. The ANA monopoly faces no competition in Portugal – which has allowed it to extract monopoly profits by increasing Portuguese airport charges without penalty – at a time when competing EU airports are lowering charges to stimulate growth,” Ryanair said in a press release at the end of November.
“The Portuguese government must step in and ensure that its airports, which form a vital part of the national infrastructure – especially in an island economy like the Azores – are used for the benefit of the Portuguese people, rather than for the benefit of a French airport monopoly.”
However, ANA categorically denied these allegations of monopoly abuse, saying that dialogue remained open and that tariffs in the Azores were low.
Ryanair flights canceled in Bosnia and Serbia
Ryanair will also implement discounts throughout Bosnia and Serbia in summer 2026. This mainly involves reallocating resources to areas where summer demand is increasing, such as Croatia.
This includes the elimination of six weekly flights from Banja Luka, which will be reduced to two weekly rotations on services to Vienna, Memmingen and Baden Baden.
In Niš, the airline will cancel two weekly flights, including one to Vienna and one to Malta.



