Ryanair, the number one airline in Europe, announced that it had been forced to reduce the number of aircraft at its base in Lisbon from 1 to 7, which meant the cancellation of 4 routes scheduled from Lisbon for the summer of 19, about 22 flights.
This was due to TAP Air Portugal blocking the landing slots. These cancellations reduce travel options, but also lead to the loss of 150 aviation jobs in Lisbon.
These cancellations come after several attempts by Ryanair to ask the Portuguese government to intervene to release these TAP slots. While Ryanair offers growth and investment in Portugal, TAP has absorbed € 3 billion in state aid, reduced its fleet by 20%, reduced thousands of jobs, but released less than 5% of its slots. in Lisbon, thus blocking the growth of other airlines.
Preventing competitors such as Ryanair from using these unused slots has a negative impact on the Lisbon economy, with 5.000 flights canceled and 3 fewer planes (a $ 300 million investment). The loss is estimated at around € 250 million for Portugal's savings.
Ryanair has confirmed that these 3 aircraft and these 19 lost routes will return to Lisbon in October 2022 for Ryanair's winter program, as the airline already has enough winter slots in Lisbon for these flights.
The 19 routes canceled by RYANAIR from Lisbon:
| Agadir Alghero Alicante Bari Billund Birmingham | Bournemouth Baden-Baden Lanzarote Madrid Malta Memmingen | Oujda Palermo Perpignan Poitiers Tenerife Wroclaw Zaragoza |