Irish low-cost airline Ryanair announced on Thursday that it would cut flights at seven airports in Spain this summer as a result of the "excessive fees" it's being made to pay by Spanish airport operator Aena.
That means that the most used carrier in the country will have 12 fewer routes come July, equating to a drop of 18 percent of their total flights, or 800,000 passenger fewer seats.
Ryanair will stop operating all together in the birthplace of sherry, Jerez (in the southern region of Andalusia) and in the northern city of Valladolid in Castilla y León.
It will also reduce the number of flights to some of its other northern destinations: Vigo (61 percent less) and Santiago de Compostela (-28 percent) in Galicia, Zaragoza in Aragón (- 20 percent), Santander in Cantabria (-5 percent) and Asturias (-11 percent).
Some of the routes that will cease to exist are the London Stansted to Asturias flight, the Zaragoza to Bologna and Venice flights, and the Vigo to London Stansted route.
It'll be a hard pill to swallow for residents and regular visitors to these Spanish regions, as their overall volume of flights and destinations is far from large.
Spain "is not competitive at a regional level," Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson reiterated as a reason for slashing all the flights, adding that they will take their business elsewhere (Sweden, Croatia, Hungary and Morocco).
Despite the news, Wilson has said that the airline is still growing in Spain, with around 2 million more seats this year. However, this will most likely be the usual popular destinations on the costas rather than to other parts of Spain that aren’t as visited or well-connected.
The low-cost carrier and Aena are currently at loggerheads over the fees the airport operator charges, so for the sake of our readers affected by the news let’s hope they reach an agreement, or if not that another airline swoops in to take charge of the cancelled routes.
In truth, the Spanish government should also realise that if it wants a better distribution of foreign holidaymakers around its territory and for certain cities, towns and islands to not suffer from over-tourism, it has to provide incentives to airlines to keep routes that help this happen.
Now for something completely different. In recent years, Spain has witnessed a social phenomenon that has transformed the structure of families. As a whole, the number of pets has grown exponentially and now far exceeds the number of children in households. And the rate just keeps growing.
"It's easier to take care of a dog than a child, and it's much cheaper," dog owner Laura Fernández told Spanish national broadcaster RTVE.
The 29-year-old admitted that she and her partner would like to be parents, but she doesn't think they could cope with what it would entail: "Between the expenses involved and the work-life balance, it's an impossible mission."
Recent data has shown that the cost of raising a child in Spain is now €758 per month. Having a dog on the other hand costs around €105 a month according to the Spanish Canine Society (other sources say up to €50 less), whereas having a cat costs only €44 a month.
So it's no surprise that many Spaniards willing to give love to another sentient being are choosing pooches and felines over human babies.
According to the Spanish Network of Pets (REIAC), in 2023 there were more than 10.1 million dogs and almost one million cats registered as pets in Spain.
Meanwhile, in January 2023, there were 1,78 million children under four, according to Spain’s National Institute of Statistics (INE).
The rate now is around 1 child under four for every six pets.
One could of course argue that people can have pets at any age whilst biological clocks play a far more important role in the decision and ability to have a baby, but you only have to ask a few Spaniards of a child-bearing age to understand the bigger picture.
Many Spaniards prioritise their professional careers, economic stability, buying a home, personal development and overall quality of life before venturing into parenthood. Sometimes the former doesn’t fall into place - especially a well-paying job - so they put off having a child until it’s too late, or it’s simply never the right time.
There’s also the emotional and physical toll parenting requires - not so with pet ownership - and Spaniards are increasingly aware of what having a child entails before embarking on that life-long journey.
Furthermore, there aren’t enough fiscal incentives in Spain to ‘convince’ Spaniards in their twenties, thirties and even forties to give parenthood a go.
Interestingly, Spain’s population keeps growing but it’s all thanks to immigration (soon to be 49 million). They’re filling more job positions than ever and on average have more children than Spaniards as well, which Spain should see as a blessing.
READ ALSO: The real reasons Spaniards don't want to have children
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