Vueling will fly almost 1.5 million seats to Spain this winter following Ryanair's withdrawal from several regional airports.
The Spanish airline, part of the IAG group, is set to increase passenger seats to over 578,000 from Santiago and almost 900,000 from Tenerife Norte.
According to Vueling, capacity will rise by 15 per cent compared to 2024 in Santiago, with an 11 per cent increase in Tenerife Norte.
Over 160,000 additional seats aim to strengthen the airline’s presence in Santiago and Tenerife during the winter season.
An additional aircraft will join the airline from mid-December, supporting 28 additional weekly journeys from Santiago to destinations including Barcelona, Mallorca, Sevilla and Malaga.
Flights departing Tenerife Norte to Spanish hotspots such as Barcelona, Alicante and Valencia will also be strengthened with 25 extra weekly frequencies this winter.
Jordi Pla, Vueling’s route planning director, said: “The commitment to strengthening Santiago's connectivity reaffirms our ambition to establish ourselves as the key airline in the domestic market, as well as in major corridors between Spain and Europe.”
He added: “With this winter offer in the Canary Islands, we reinforce our commitment to maintaining and enhancing the islands' air connectivity year-round.”
Between Vueling, Iberia Express and Binter, around 434,000 additional seats will fly this winter compared to 2024.
Volotea and Wizz Air are also expected to attempt to fill the missing seats left after Ryanair scaled back.
Minister of Transport Óscar Puente said on X that “low-cost airlines are rushing to take up the million seats left by Ryanair”.
Ryanair will cut one million seats to Spain this winter following what it describes as “excessive and uncompetitive” price hikes from the country’s airport operator.
The budget Irish airline announced that two million annual seats will be diverted away from Spain in a “tourism disaster” on 3 September.
Airport operator Aena announced a 6.62 per cent increase in airport charges starting in 2026— the highest increase in a decade, said the airline.
Following the fare increase, Ryanair will reduce its capacity at Spanish regional airports by 600,000 seats (41 per cent) and by 400,000 seats in the Canary Islands (10 per cent) this winter season.
All flights to Tenerife Norte will be suspended from the end of this year, as well as flights to Vigo as of 1 January 2026.
The airline’s bases in Valladolid and Jerez will remain closed until winter, with capacity further reduced in Asturias, Santander, Zaragoza and Vitoria.
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