Ryanair reduces schedules at two Portuguese airports due to “excessive airport charges”
Irish low-cost airline Ryanair has announced it has further reduced its schedules at both Faro and Porto airports for the summer of 2024 following the “bizarre decision” by Portugal’s civil aviation authority ANC “to rubber stamp ANA’s unjustified airport charge increases of up to 17% from January 2024”.
Says the airline in a statement to the press, these “excessive and unjustified charge increases” will “damage Portugal’s connectivity, tourism and jobs – particularly in Madeira and the Azores whose economies are dependent on air travel for connectivity with mainland Portugal and wider Europe.”
“ANA’s airport monopoly faces no competition in Portugal, which allows it to increase prices without penalty. In Lisbon alone, 2024 passenger fees will increase by up to +50% compared to 2019, despite most European airports cutting passenger fees post-Covid to recover traffic and growth,” the airline says.
“ANAC must prevent further damage to the Portuguese economy by immediately reversing its short-sighted decision and prohibit ANA’s excessive and unjustified 2024 charge increase. Ryanair calls on the Portuguese government to immediately reopen the concession for the new Montijo Airport to break up the ANA/VINCI airport monopoly, which will bring much needed competition to the Portuguese aviation market,” it adds.
Meanwhile, Ryanair CEO, Eddie Wilson, has pointed out how the airline has already closed its Ponta Delgada base and removed one of its two aircraft from Madeira – “a loss of $100m investment” – due to “ANA’s excessive charges.”
“The ANA monopoly should follow the example of its European counterparts and lower airport charges to help stimulate traffic and tourism recovery, not increase charges by up to 17% to line the pockets of the French owned airport monopoly operator – VINCI,” Wilson says.
“Instead, these unjustified airport charge increases will erode Portugal’s competitiveness and drive-away much-needed inbound tourism in the off-peak season – as evidenced by today’s incremental capacity reduction in both Faro and Porto,” he added.
The CEO insists that the Portuguese government “must immediately intervene to protect Portuguese tourism, airlines, passengers, and island-economies from ANA’s excessive monopoly pricing that is driving away much needed tourism growth.”
michael.bruxo@portugalresident.com
