Easyjet to close gap on Ryanair in Spain with 6.3 million more seats

Low-cost airline easyJet is increasing its offering in Spain to compete with budget rivals Ryanair and Vueling, expanding its summer routes by over 6 million seats next summer.

The airline also recently announced eight new routes for next winter, as well as more than 6.3 million extra seats in total on more than 35,500 flights to and from Spain for summer 2026.

The British carrier has added more than 28.7 million seats and over 160,000 flights overall across its network to be launched between June 15th and 13 September 13th next year, coinciding with the busiest months in terms of tourism demand.

LISTED: The new flights to and from Spain this summer

Among the routes are new flights connecting Barcelona with Geneva and Lisbon, Madrid with Lisbon, Ibiza with Milan and Palma de Mallorca with Berlin and Geneva, among many others, according to information from Spanish tourism website Hosteltur.

This comes as long-time rival Ryanair posted record numbers even after cutting flights to smaller regional airports in Spain this winter season over its ongoing battle with national airport operator to lower fees.

READ ALSO: Ryanair's exit leaves two Spanish airports in the doldrums

Ryanair’s outspoken CEO, Michael O’Leary, has warned that he will further cut capacity at small hubs for the coming winter season if the Spanish airport network operator, Aena, does not reduce these airport fees. This comes as Aena plans to undo a fee freeze and introduce the biggest increase in a decade.

The low-cost Irish airline has already cut 800,000 seats in Spain and cancelled 12 routes this summer for the same reason, ceasing entirely with operations at smaller airports like Jerez and Valladolid. Routes have also been cut at regional airports such as Santiago de Compostela, Asturias, Cantabria, and Zaragoza.

But Ryanair is not cutting its routes throughout the country: the airline added 1.5 million seats to larger and more popular airports such as Madrid, Málaga, and Alicante.

EasyJet's expansion on Spanish routes may be an attempt to cut the gap on the Irish airline's dominance in Spain.

Ryanair carried the most passengers on Spain flights in the first half of 2025 with 32.6 million, followed by Vueling with 23 million and Iberia with 10.8 million.

By contrast, easyJet only carried 4.2 million people too and from Spanish airports during the same period.

EasyJet's Spanish operations have not been without turbulence in Spain in recent times either. Last month, easyJet employees went on strike and cancelled hundreds of flights from and to airports such as Málaga, Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca.

Called by Spanish workers’ union USO, the purpose of the stoppage was to demand improved pay for easyJet’s Spain-based cabin crew, equalling their wages to that of their counterparts across other European countries where the budget airlines has bases. More strike action is planned by easyJet cabin crew in August if a deal isn't reached.

READ ALSO: Ryanair threatens more Spain flights cuts as airport operator hikes fees