Ryanair has flown its last flight to the Azores – meaning the roughly 100,000 visitors per year who used the airline to travel to the archipelago will now have to find alternative (possibly more expensive) carriers.
Announced months ago, this is a development that still leaves Azores’ operators ‘concerned’, at estimated damages to the islands’ tourism of €160 million.
Ryanair’s decision was prompted, says the company, by the high airport taxes and charges, and Europe’s environmental levies.
Portugal’s regional and central governments have stressed that they are working on “solutions to address Ryanair’s departure, with steps being taken to attract other airlines to the region in the “medium term”.
But in the short term, the bottom line is it has not been possible “to guarantee that all the seats left vacant by the low-cost airline will be filled this summer”.
Fares for flights to the Azores are now being set for other flights, reports SIC Notícias.
Source: SIC Notícias
