The Irish low-cost airline Ryanair has announced the cancellation as of November of 21 routes with the Canary Islands (six of them with Lanzarote) and the reduction of another 32 connections "after the refusal of the regional government to comply with the commitment reached to establish an incentive system that guarantees low operating costs at the Canary Islands airports".
These cuts would affect 1.1 million passengers "and around 1,100 jobs", which would be lost in Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and Tenerife, according to the airline in a statement.
According to the company, as a result of these cuts, Ryanair's traffic to the Canary Islands will be reduced by 26 percent, from 4.35 million to 3.2 million passengers per year.
In Lanzarote, the routes that Ryanair will eliminate are to Santander, Valencia, Valladolid, Zaragoza, Eindhoven and Baden Baden. These routes have a total of 38 weekly flights, which will be lost from November. In this sense, Ryanair's annual passenger traffic to Lanzarote will be reduced by 300,000, from 1.1 travelers to 800,000.
Ryanair Vice President Michael Cawley said this Thursday in Santa Cruz de Tenerife that these cuts "could be reversible and canceled, but only when the Government of the Canary Islands reintroduces the agreed incentive system". "Something Ryanair will continue to fight for," he said.
