Ryanair cancels flights to a Central European destination from Alicante-Elche airport

Ryanair once again reacts negatively to airport charges. It did so a few months ago when it announced its departure from Billund airport due to the Danish government's passenger tax, leaving one of its first routes at Alicante-Elche airport orphaned, which Norwegian has now resumed.

This episode is followed by a new one that will leave the Alicante terminal without a connection to a city in one of the province's main international markets. It is Maastricht, on the border with Germany. The Dutch city will no longer have flights to Alicante from October.

The Irish airline announced this in a statement pointing to increased costs and airport charges. From October 26, Ryanair will make this decision effective, coinciding with the start of the low season. The airline argues that the increases have made Maastricht "one of the most expensive airports in Europe".

The Irish airline operates alone on the route to Maastricht, which has two frequencies on Wednesdays and Sundays. The Netherlands is one of the main markets at Alicante-Elche airport and boasts great connectivity, which will increase in winter with airlines like Transavia announcing more frequencies.

Meanwhile, Ryanair will abandon this route, which was one of the initial ones upon its arrival at the Alicante airport. The airline claims in a statement that since 2021, when the government introduced this new tax, "it has increased by more than 275%, costing 30 euros per passenger".

"As a result of these excessive charges, Ryanair has cancelled all direct flights to Maastricht from October, losing 150,000 seats and five connections," the airline states, warning that its policy now focuses on airports that are reducing charges, such as Sweden, Italy, or Poland.

"We are disappointed to announce this flight cancellation, which comes due to the excessive rise in charges," explains Ryanair's CCO, Jason McGuinness. For the executive, these costs per passenger are "damaging connectivity, highlighting the failure of this airport's post-COVID recovery, which is 50% behind the rest of Europe."