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Planning a budget trip to the Azores? Your options for getting there may soon shrink.
Ryanair says it will cut every route to the islands from March 2026, blaming rising airport fees, new taxes and what it calls government “inaction” in Portugal.
The move would end the carrier’s year-round connections between the remote Atlantic archipelago and major cities such as London, Brussels, Lisbon and Porto.
Why is Ryanair threatening to walk away from the Azores?
Ryanair announced the cuts on 20 November, claiming the “French airport monopoly ANA” – which operates Portugal’s airports under the Vinci group – has raised charges to the point that its Azores routes are no longer viable.
It also criticised Portugal’s post-pandemic increases in air traffic control fees and the country’s €2 per-passenger travel tax.
The airline says Portuguese airport charges have risen up to 35 per cent since 2020, arguing that ANA “faces no competition” and can increase fees “without penalty”.
Ryanair also takes aim at what it calls “anti-competitive environmental taxes”, including the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), which applies to intra-European flights but not long-haul routes to destinations such as the US or Middle East.
According to Ryanair’s Chief Commercial Officer Jason McGuinness, the rising costs leave the airline with “no alternative” but to shut down its Azores services and redeploy aircraft to lower-cost airports elsewhere in Europe.
The carrier says six routes and around 400,000 annual passengers would be lost.
This new dispute follows earlier clashes in Portugal. In 2023, Ryanair cut capacity on 40 routes at Faro and Porto, calling planned tax increases “bizarre” and warning that Lisbon’s passenger fees would rise sharply in 2024.
Ryanair is slashing flights across Europe
The airline’s decision to sever ties with the Azores is part of a much wider trimming of flight routes across Europe.
In Spain, Ryanair has already announced the suspension of winter services to cities such as Vigo and Santiago de Compostela.
Meanwhile, the budget airline plans to drop several popular winter routes in Germany, including to Berlin, Hamburg and Dortmund, as it reworks its network for 2026.
And in France Ryanair has signalled its imminent withdrawal from several regional airports including Brive, Bergerac and Strasbourg, describing them as “no longer viable” under current cost structures.
What would this mean for holidaymakers?
The Azores are one of Europe’s fastest-growing nature destinations, and Ryanair’s presence has helped keep fares low. If the airline follows through with its threats to cancel all services, travellers could face fewer options and potentially higher prices.
Other carriers could still step in to absorb some of the demand, something that has happened before when Ryanair has scaled back services to Portugal and Spain.
When Ryanair slashed its Spanish routes this year, rival airlines responded quickly, adding flights to Lanzarote, Tenerife, Barcelona and other tourism hubs to fill the gap.
Several carriers already serve the Azores, including TAP, Iberia, Lufthansa, TUI and low-cost carrier Transavia, offering links to Lisbon, Porto, Boston, Toronto and beyond. At the time of publication, none had announced plans to increase routes to the islands.
For now, the changes remain a threat rather than a certainty. Ryanair’s withdrawal would not begin until March 2026, leaving time for negotiations.
But with no replacements announced and the islands reliant on affordable flights, travellers may find the Azores a little harder to reach next year.
