Ryanair Boosts Liverpool John Lennon Airport Christmas Capacity, Citing Spanish Seat Cuts Over AENA Charges

Ryanair is significantly increasing its capacity at Liverpool John Lennon Airport for the upcoming Christmas week, adding over 11,000 extra seats. This strategic move anticipates a substantial surge in festive travel, with the airline, Europe's largest by passenger numbers, projecting more than 47,000 travelers through the UK airport during this peak period. The additional flights are designed to accommodate passengers returning home or visiting loved ones, ensuring robust connectivity during one of the busiest times of the year for air travel.

This capacity enhancement at Liverpool forms a crucial part of Ryanair’s comprehensive Winter 2025 schedule, which is now fully available for booking. The airline's Director of Comms, Jade Kirwan, emphasized the strong demand for Christmas travel and urged early booking to secure seats. Beyond operational adjustments, Ryanair is also promoting travel gift cards as a flexible Christmas gifting option, available digitally or as physical cards starting from €25.

In parallel with its UK operations, Ryanair has also announced a substantial 37 percent increase in its operations at Spain's Murcia Airport for the upcoming winter season. This expansion includes the introduction of four new routes, notably a new service to London Stansted with four weekly flights, alongside additional frequencies to Birmingham and Dublin. Ryanair's spokesperson for Spain, Alejandra Ruiz, highlighted that this new offering significantly boosts the airline's capacity at Murcia, providing customers with more low-fare choices and supporting over 450 local jobs.

Despite this growth in Murcia, Ryanair faces challenges across its broader Spanish network. The airline has been compelled to cut one million seats from its overall Spain schedule for the 2025/2026 winter season. This decision stems from what Ryanair describes as "excessive increases" in AENA charges, specifically a 6.62% hike, coupled with "ineffective incentive schemes" that render regional airports financially unviable for continued investment. Ryanair, a long-time advocate for regional airport development and low-fare tourism, asserts it cannot justify further investment where growth is hampered by uncompetitive charges.