Sawt Falasteen - Ryanair slashes winter seats in Spain over airport fees

The row is the latest clash in an ongoing spat between the carrier and Spanish authorities that erupted last year after the leftist government fined Ryanair 107.8 million euros for "abusive practices" such as charging for hand luggage.

Ryanair said in a statement that the cuts, which affect destinations including the popular Atlantic holiday island of Tenerife, were "due to excessive and uncompetitive airport fees" applied by state-owned airport operator Aena.

"These cuts will harm already vulnerable Spanish regional airports even more, and inevitably lead to a loss of investment, connectivity, tourism and jobs," Ryanair added, warning "many routes will be economically unviable".

Aena chief executive Maurici Lucena retorted in a scathing statement that Spanish airports would "cease to function well" if they "evolved to the tune of the demands, whining, swindling and intolerable strategy of extortion of Ryanair".

In January, the airline announced it was scrapping 800,000 seats on seven regional Spanish routes in response to Aena's airport fees.

It has also dropped several French airports over a tax hike on air travel.

In the past two years, the company has "tried to intimidate the public authorities of Germany, France, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark and the United Kingdom", Lucena added.

In response to last year's fine in Spain, Ryanair's group chief executive Michael O'Leary slammed Spain's far-left consumer rights minister Pablo Bustinduy as a "crazy communist".

The firm then launched an advertising campaign that depicted the minister as a clown.

Bustinduy has said "no pressure, no blackmail and no insult will stop me" in his defence of Spanish consumers against multinationals.

I.Saadi--SF-PST