Ryanair cancels 5,000 flights to Portugal: 3 Italian cities affected
A decision bound to cause discussion, that of Ryanair, which opted to cancel as many as 19 routes, all [...]
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A decision bound to cause discussion, that of Ryanair, which opted to cancel as many as 19 routes, all of which were directed to Portugal's capital: Lisbon. An abrupt step backward, which comes as no small surprise. The reason for such surprise is soon made clear. In fact, the connection with the Portuguese city had been unveiled in the summer of 2021, in the midst of a pandemic. A major addition announced just a year ago and already cleared from the calendar of the famous Irish lowcost airline. This new route undertaken by Ryanair will also have consequences in Italy, involving several cities. Below is a reconstruction of the events that led to this unpopular decision.
Ryanair says goodbye to Lisbon
What is the obstacle that prompted Ryanair to announce the cancellation of its 19 routes to Lisbon? The problem that has arisen, and apparently impossible to solve, concerns the retention of slots at the airport in Portugal's capital city. A blow to travelers who had been waiting for this connection option for a long time.
With the summer approaching, poised to post the best travel numbers since 2020, the Irish carrier's step backwards will affect as many as 5,000 flights, which will be canceled. So really impressive numbers, even more worrying if one tries to look at the plan in its entirety: 900 thousand passengers and 150 jobs involved.
On this sad affair, the same Michael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair who decided to write directly to Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa: "These cancellations come after numerous attempts on our part to ask the Portuguese government to intervene in the release of slots that do not will be used by TAP Portugal in summer 2022," he said. "All of this could have been avoided. Despite receiving €3 million in aid from the state, TAP still reduced the 20% of its fleet, resulting in the loss of thousands of jobs. Despite all this, it freed up less than 5% of its slots in Lisbon. In doing so, it has blocked the local growth of other companies. We will therefore have to reduce our fleet from seven to four in Lisbon in the summer. A total of 150 jobs will be lost. A problem for 900 thousand passengers and 250 million euros in tourism revenue up in smoke."
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Ryanair-Lisbon: the Italian cities involved.
Ryanair's decision means the cancellation of 19 total routes leading to Lisbon. Goodbye to the convenient connections to Portugal announced just a year ago. This also affects Italy. Looking specifically at the following cities in our country:
- Palermo
- Alghero
- Bari
By the end of March, the last authorized trips from Italy to Lisbon via Ryanair should be completed. The Irish lowcost carrier also informs that all passengers affected by this large number of flight cancellations will receive the appropriate info via-email. They will be given the opportunity to schedule alternative flights or request a full refund of the amount spent.
Here are all the other routes involved:
- Agadir
- Alicante
- Billund
- Birmingham
- Bournemouth
- Baden-Baden
- Lanzarote
- Madrid
- Malta
- Memmingen
- Oujda
- Perpignan
- Poiters
- Tenerife
- Krakow
- Zaragoza
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