Ryanair to fly 29 new routes to Spain this winter

Spain’s enduring popularity as a location for sun-drenched summer holidays looks set to strengthen in 2018 following the news that budget airline Ryanair is to introduce a massive 29 new routes to the country this year.

The additions will boost Ryanair’s Spanish routemap to an impressive 500, and come at a time when Spain’s tourism industry is already flying high…

Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary announced the reasons behind the new routes last week, stressing that Spain is one of the airline’s most important markets.

“Spain provides Ryanair with 27% of our traffic, and is very important to us,” O’Leary said during a discussion over air pilots’ pay.

Highlights of the new routes include additional flights between Seville and Bristol, Seville and Edinburgh, Seville and Rabat and Tangier in Morocco, and Seville – Venice.

Barcelona’s expanded connections will see the city offer flights to Palermo in Italy and Burgundy in France, while Palma de Majorca will welcome additional flights from Milan and Rome, and Düsseldorf in Germany.

Alicante will offer a connection with Newquay in Cornwall, England, Gdansk in Poland, and Bologna in Italy, as well as domestic flights to Seville.

Following the expansion, Ryanair will operate flights at 26 Spanish airports, handling more than 41 million passengers annually – which is a massive share of the country’s overall tourism market.

Last year, Spain registered a 13.7% increase in low-cost air traffic into the country.