Ryanair has halted growth plans in Lisbon for winter 2025 due to high fees imposed by ANA, the airport operator.
Two additional aircraft, representing a €189m investment, will be based in Madeira and Faro to support regional growth. Over 30 existing routes will see increased frequencies, but Lisbon’s growth is stalled due to ANA’s high fees and capacity issues.
The company criticises ANA’s monopoly for failing to expand capacity at Portela Airport, limiting tourism and job growth. Ryanair urges the Portuguese government to address capacity constraints to maintain Lisbon’s competitiveness as a destination.
ANA’s proposal to increase fees to fund Alcochete Airport, 12 years before its operation, is deemed unreasonable by Ryanair.
Without action, Ryanair warns that growth opportunities will shift to lower-cost airports in other European countries.
Ryanair will operate 121 routes in Portugal this winter, including new routes from Porto to Gothenburg and Warsaw, Faro to Krakow, and Madeira to Shannon.
The airline plans to double traffic to 28m passengers annually by 2030, supported by a €1.5bn investment in 16 Boeing MAX-10 aircraft.
Ryanair expects to carry 14m passengers in Portugal in 2025, a 6pc increase from the previous year.
Ryanair shared: “Unfortunately, there will be no Ryanair growth in Lisbon this winter due to ANA’s excessive and uncompetitive fees and the airport monopoly’s failure to expand capacity at Portela, which hinders traffic, tourism, and employment growth in Lisbon.”
Ryanair is calling on the Portuguese government to urgently expand the capacity to ensure Lisbon’s competitiveness, and urges ANA to improve its competitiveness by reducing its excessive fees and abandoning the absurd proposal to have Portela Airport passengers finance Alcochete Airport by paying higher fees 12 years before being able to use the new airport.”
Michael O’Leary shared: “Ryanair continues to grow at Portugal’s regional airports this winter, operating 121 routes, including four new ones (Porto–Gothenburg and Warsaw, Faro–Krakow, and Madeira–Shannon), adding frequencies on over 30 existing routes, and basing two additional aircraft (a $200m investment) this winter in Madeira and Faro. Ryanair is a major airline experiencing rapid post-COVID growth in Portugal. We can double Portuguese traffic to 28m passengers per year in the next five years, creating economic and employment growth. But without urgent action from the government and ANA, this growth will shift to lower-cost airports and other European countries.”
