Ryanair has been very vocal about its problems with rising aviation taxes, fees and air traffic control in several different destinations.
And although the budget airline is expanding routes to new spots, including trips from Newcastle to Brussels, Budapest, Gdańsk, Malta, and Wrocław, a substantial amount of flights won’t be running this year.
From popular holiday locations like Spain, to other locations across Europe that Brits regularly frequent, the cuts have amounted to millions of seats lost.
Read on as we outline all of the destinations Ryanair has axed flights to in 2026, and the reasons why.
Most recently, the airline revealed last month it would be slashing one million seats and 20 flight routes from its Belgium winter 2026/2027 schedule.
Five of its aircrafts will no longer be based in the country, a move which is thought to create a $500m (£373m) loss in investments.
Airports including Brussels Airport and Brussels South Charleroi will be hit by Ryanair’s cutbacks.
Overall, the airline says the cuts will see a 22 per cent reduction in its services and is in response to the Belgian government’s aviation tax that will see airlines charged €10 (£8.75) per departing passenger from 2027.
Although Ryanair is expanding routes to new spots, a substantial amount of flights won’t be running this year
The airline revealed last month it would be slashing one million seats and 20 flight routes from its Belgium winter 2026/2027 schedule
It’s also backlash to Charleroi city council’s proposal that could see a €3 (£2.60) charge per departing passenger tax this year.
Portugal is another destination to be impacted by Ryanair’s cuts.
The airline announced in December it would stop running flights to and from the Azores, Portugal’s mid-Atlantic archipelago, from March 29.
Ryanair explained how increased Air Traffic Control charges, a new €2 travel tax and high airport fees, was behind the decision.
The move will result in a loss of six different routes to and from the Azores, which, in total, carried 400,000 passengers a year.
Ryanair hit out at ‘French airport monopoly ANA’ which they claim ‘has no plan to grow low-fare connectivity to the Azores’ and is responsible for the airport fees.
The airline called for the Portuguese government to ‘intervene’ and make sure the country’s airports ‘benefit’ locals instead.
Tax issues came into play when Ryanair announced in November it plans to axe certain routes to France this year.
The airline also announced in December it would stop running flights to and from the Azores, Portugal’s mid-Atlantic archipelago, from March 29
Ryanair removed flights from several regional airports including Strasbourg, Bergerac, and Vatry last year
Then the airline’s commercial director, Jason McGuinness, warned more French airports would be added to the list.
Speaking to French magazine, Challenges, he revealed that a tax increase of 180 per cent has rendered a number of regional airports ‘unviable’ for the airline.
The French government’s 2025 Budget includes raised taxes for air travel – adding an extra €4.77 per ticket for domestic and European flights departing from France.
The proposed plans are set to come into effect this summer.
A whopping 24 routes to and from Germany were slashed from the airline’s 2025/2026 winter schedule.
Ryanair announced in October how nearly 800,000 seats would be cut over what the carrier describes as an ‘exorbitant’ air travel tax.
The move impacts nine German airports, including Berlin, Hamburg and Memmingen, while Dortmund, Dresden and Leipzig.
A whopping 24 routes to and from Germany were slashed from the airline’s 2025/2026 winter schedule, including flights from Berlin Airport (pictured)
It will bring Ryanair’s overall capacity in Germany to fall below Winter ‘24 levels.
Despite millions of Brits jetting off to Spain every year, the airline also made cuts to several destinations across the popular European destination.
Back in October, Ryanair revealed it would axe over a million seats to the country this year – reducing its Summer 2026 schedule by 10 per cent.
It’s also set to stop flights entirely to and from Asturias Airport in northern Spain.
The decision comes as the Aeno Monopoly continue to increase ‘uncompetitive’ airport fees at regional airports – many of which are under-used – across the country.
Ryanair has said this decision ‘harms growth’.
The move was part of a wider cull of Spanish routes by the carrier.
It saw a drop of 41 per cent of its flights to regional areas this winter, including to Zaragoza, Santander, Asturias and Vitoria.
This includes flights to the Canary Islands, which are being slashed by 10 per cent – equal to 400,000 seats.
All flights to Tenerife North were axed from the beginning of the winter season
All flights to Tenerife North were axed from the beginning of the winter season too.
Meanwhile, flights to Vigo, on Spain’s northwest coast were cut from January 1.
The airline announced the cuts are a ‘direct result’ of the Spanish Government’s ‘failure’ to put a stop to Aena’s fee increases.
The Spanish Government holds a majority stake (51 per cent) in Aena, the state-owned company that manages the majority of Spanish airports and heliports.