Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline, has announced it will be cancelling all flights to and from the Azores from 29 March 2026, stating the decision was made due to “high airport fees” set by ANA, the airport’s operator owned by the French Vinci group.
Ryanair Axes Six Routes
The Azores, a long-standing favourite of holidaymakers due to its dramaic volcanic landscapes, is the latest Ryanair destination to be cut. Six routes are being cancelled, meaning that 400,000 passengers per year will no longer by flying to or from the remote Portuguese peninsula. The airline has stated that air traffic control charges have increased by 120 percent since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a 2 EUR (£1.76) travel tax has also been introduced. Ryanair went on to name the “ANA monopoly” for being able to raise airport fees without penalty, and called on the Portuguese government to intervene and allow the local economy to benefit from the airport, rather than a French-owned company.
Ryanair’s Chief Commercial Officer, Jason McGuinness, issued the following statement on the airline’s website:
“We are disappointed that the French airport monopoly ANA continues to raise Portuguese airport fees to line its pockets, at the expense of Portuguese tourism and jobs – particularly on the Portuguese islands. As a direct result of these rising costs, we have been left with no alternative other than to cancel all Azores flights from 29 March 2026 onwards and relocate this capacity to lower cost airports elsewhere in the extensive Ryanair Group network across Europe.
This loss of low fare connectivity to the Azores is direct result of the French monopoly airport operator – VINCI – imposing excessive airport charges across Portugal (which have risen by up to 35% since Covid) and the anti-competitive enviro taxes imposed by the EU, which exempt more polluting long haul flights to the US and Middle East, at the expense of EU remote regions such as the Azores. After 10 years of year-round Ryanair operations, one of Europe’s most remote regions will now lose direct low-fare flights to London, Brussels, Lisbon, and Porto due to ANA’s high airport fees and Portuguese Govt. inaction.”
Vinci Responds
The Vinci Group, which owns ANA, responded to Ryanair’s cancellation of Azores flights with the following, which it told The Independent:
“Ryanair’s statement comes as a surprise, and recent talks with the Irish company are aimed at increasing, not reducing, its flight offerings to Ponta Delgada.”
ANA added that the airport fees in the Azores are the lowest in its network, were unchanged in 2025, and there were no plans to increase the fees for 2026. Futhermore, ANA maintained that dialogue remains open with Ryainair, the Azores regional government and tourism entities to ensure “the best air connectivity to and from the Azores, with Ryanair and other operators.”
In August 2025, the airline announced it would be axing routes to three regional French airports due to increases in airport tax.
Has Ryanair’s axing of these routes impacted your holiday plans? Let us know in the comments.
