Ryanair closes Thessaloniki base for winter 2026, cuts 12 routes in Greece
Ryanair has officially announced the closure of its Thessaloniki base for the winter 2026 season, further intensifying the dispute between Europe’s largest low-cost carrier and the managers of Greek airports over the level of airport charges. According to the company’s announcement of May 8, 2026, three aircraft will be withdrawn from the Thessaloniki base, and the winter schedule in Greece will be reduced by a total of 700,000 seats, or 45 percent compared with winter 2025. The biggest impact concerns Thessaloniki Airport “Makedonia”, where Ryanair is announcing the removal of 500,000 seats and a 60 percent capacity reduction. At the same time, the company is announcing cuts in Athens and the suspension of winter operations in Chania and Heraklion, two airports on Crete. The decision comes at a time when the Greek tourism sector is trying to reduce pronounced seasonality and increase traffic outside the summer months.
Three aircraft are leaving Thessaloniki
According to Ryanair’s official statement, the closure of the Thessaloniki base means the withdrawal of three aircraft based there, which the company links to an investment of about 300 million US dollars. In practice, closing the base does not necessarily mean the complete disappearance of all the carrier’s flights from Thessaloniki, but it does mean that aircraft will no longer be stationed at that airport during winter 2026 and that the route network will be significantly smaller. Ryanair states that ten routes from Thessaloniki will be cut for the winter season: to Berlin, Chania, Frankfurt-Hahn, Göteborg, Heraklion, Niederrhein, Poznań, Stockholm, Venice Treviso and Zagreb. In addition, according to the company’s announcement, the Athens – Milan Malpensa route and the Chania – Paphos route are also being removed from the schedule, bringing the total number of cancelled routes in Greece to 12.
The base closure has been announced for the end of October 2026, that is, the start of the winter schedule. The Greek daily Kathimerini reported that the Thessaloniki base currently employs about 100 workers, mostly pilots and cabin crew, and that these jobs will be affected by the closure decision. According to the same report, the decision was presented at a press conference in Athens, where Ryanair’s Chief Commercial Officer Jason McGuinness said that the increases in charges were unsustainable for the company. Ryanair claims that last winter it provided about 90 percent of the international capacity from Thessaloniki, so the consequences are expected to be most visible precisely in the winter period, when the choice of international flights is otherwise narrower than in summer.
Dispute over airport charges and the state fee
Ryanair explains the decision by claiming that costs at Greek airports have become uncompetitive in the winter and shoulder-season months. In its statement, the company specifically criticises Fraport Greece, the manager of 14 regional Greek airports, and Athens Airport, saying that they did not pass on the benefit of the reduction in the Airport Development Fee. According to a report by Greek Travel Pages, that fee was reduced by 75 percent at the end of 2024, from 12 euros to 3 euros per passenger, with the aim of encouraging year-round connectivity and tourism outside the main season. Ryanair claims that the saving was not passed on to airlines and passengers, but that total airport costs continued to rise.
In the company’s statement, Jason McGuinness says that the capacity reduction is a “direct consequence” of the airports not passing on the fee reduction, especially in Thessaloniki, where Ryanair accused Fraport Greece of increasing charges by 66 percent compared with 2019. The company claims that it presented the Greek government with a growth plan which, according to its statements, could increase traffic to 12 million passengers per year within five years, add ten based aircraft and open 50 new routes. However, Ryanair makes such a plan conditional on freezing airport charges and fully passing on the fee reduction to passengers and airlines. The company has announced that it will redirect the aircraft withdrawn from Greece to Albania, regional Italy and Sweden, which it says offer more competitive conditions.
Fraport Greece rejects the accusations
Fraport Greece rejected Ryanair’s claims and said that linking the reduction in winter operations to airport charges or the state fee has no basis. In a statement published after Ryanair’s announcement, the airport operator says that the decision to reduce the winter programme in Thessaloniki is linked exclusively to the carrier’s own commercial strategy, business model and profitability assessment. Fraport Greece emphasises that it respects Ryanair’s business decisions and that it still considers it an important partner among more than 40 airlines operating at Thessaloniki Airport “Makedonia”. The dispute has therefore received two clearly opposing interpretations: Ryanair presents it as a consequence of excessively high costs, while Fraport Greece claims that it is a commercial decision by the airline.
In the same statement, Fraport Greece says that Thessaloniki remains an important international gateway to northern Greece and the wider Macedonian region, with connectivity to more than 93 destinations in 33 countries. The operator also claims that since taking over management of the airport it has invested more than 100 million euros in the expansion and modernisation of infrastructure and facilities. Among the previously listed infrastructure works on the airport’s profile are the construction of a new terminal area, an increase in the number of check-in counters, an increase in the number of security lanes, the installation of a modern baggage system and an increase in the number of boarding gates. Fraport Greece also states that passenger traffic in Thessaloniki has grown by 40 percent over the last nine years and that the airport is recording record traffic levels.
Why winter traffic is particularly sensitive
The cuts concern the winter schedule, which is particularly sensitive for Greece because a large part of air traffic and tourist demand is traditionally concentrated in the summer months. That is precisely why Ryanair stresses in its statements that low-cost routes outside the main season are important for year-round tourism, business travel and local accessibility. According to a report by Greek Travel Pages, Ryanair estimates that the decision could significantly affect the regional connectivity of Thessaloniki and northern Greece, because 500,000 winter seats and ten routes are being removed from the city. At the same time, Fraport Greece claims that the airport’s wider network remains strong and that the development of Thessaloniki as an international destination continues.
For passengers, the effect will depend on which routes other carriers may eventually replace and whether Ryanair will retain part of the traffic through flights by aircraft based at other airports. In aviation, the difference between “base closure” and “complete departure” is important: closing a base means that the airline no longer keeps crews and aircraft at that location, but individual routes can continue to operate if they are flown by aircraft from other bases. However, in this case the company has already named the routes that are being removed from the winter schedule, including Zagreb, so the consequences for connectivity are more concrete than the administrative status of the base itself. For visitors to Thessaloniki, Halkidiki and northern Greece who are planning trips outside the season, changes in the schedule could mean fewer direct options, more transfers and potentially higher prices on the remaining routes. In the context of travel to the region, it is useful to check flights, alternative airports and accommodation offers in Thessaloniki in good time, especially for dates after the start of the winter schedule.
Thessaloniki between traffic growth and the reduction of one network
The available data show that Ryanair’s decision is taking place at an airport that has recorded a strong recovery and growth in traffic in recent years. According to Fraport Greece, the 14 regional Greek airports managed by the company handled more than 37.1 million passengers in 2025, which is 3 percent more than in 2024 and 48 percent more than in 2016, before it took over management of those airports. Voria, citing traffic data, reported that Thessaloniki Airport “Makedonia” reached 7.98 million passengers in 2025, with strong growth in international traffic compared with the period before the concession. These figures provide the wider context of the dispute: Ryanair is reducing its winter presence at an airport that is growing overall, but the issue of the profitability of winter flights and charges is proving crucial for the low-cost model.
Thessaloniki is the second-largest urban centre in Greece and an important transport hub for the north of the country, including tourism-strong areas such as Halkidiki and the coastal parts of Macedonia. For the city and the region, direct international routes have a broader effect than passenger traffic alone, because they influence weekend trips, business arrivals, conferences, students, the diaspora and short city breaks. A reduction in winter capacity can therefore affect hotels, rental providers, hospitality businesses, transport operators and event organisers, although the final effect will depend on the market’s reaction and other carriers. For tourism, it will be particularly important whether the lost capacity is replaced before winter 2026 or whether a larger share of traffic is redirected via Athens, other Greek airports and neighbouring markets. For this reason, in the months before the winter schedule, not only Ryanair’s final sales schedules will be monitored, but also the decisions of competing airlines.
The list of routes shows the scale of the cuts
In its official announcement, Ryanair states that the cuts concern 12 routes in Greece. From Thessaloniki, winter routes to Berlin, Chania, Frankfurt-Hahn, Göteborg, Heraklion, Niederrhein, Poznań, Stockholm, Venice Treviso and Zagreb are being cut. Outside Thessaloniki, the cuts include the Athens – Milan Malpensa route and the Chania – Paphos route, while winter operations in Chania and Heraklion are being suspended during the weaker season. Such a schedule shows that the decision does not affect only one airport, but changes part of Ryanair’s winter network in Greece, including domestic links to Crete and international links to central, northern and western Europe.
For Zagreb, it is particularly relevant that the Thessaloniki – Zagreb route is listed among the named routes. This does not mean that all Ryanair operations from Zagreb are changing, but that, according to the company’s announcement, this specific winter route from Thessaloniki is being removed from the Greek winter programme for 2026. Passengers who planned to travel between Zagreb and Thessaloniki in the winter months of 2026 should monitor the carrier’s official schedule and alternative options via other hubs. Since the changes were announced months in advance, additional adjustments to the schedule are possible, but the currently available information confirms that the route is part of the package of announced cancellations. For the cities affected by the cuts, the key issue will be how quickly replacement capacity can be found, whether through other low-cost carriers, traditional airlines or seasonal changes to existing routes.
A wider European pattern of cost pressure
The decision in Greece fits into a wider pattern in which low-cost carriers are increasingly publicly linking flight schedules with airport charges, taxes and incentives. In recent years, Ryanair has used similar arguments in several European countries: if costs rise, capacity is redirected to airports and countries that offer lower charges or other forms of incentives. In this case, the company explicitly names Albania, regional Italy and Sweden as markets to which it will move the aircraft withdrawn from Greece. For airports and tourism destinations, this creates pressure because winter flights often depend on a delicate balance between price, demand and operating costs.
On the other hand, airports and concessionaires argue that charges must cover maintenance, security, investment and the capacity needed for traffic growth. Fraport Greece, in its response, emphasises investments in Thessaloniki and record levels of passenger traffic, while Ryanair claims that it is precisely high costs that threaten additional growth outside the season. This reveals a fundamental conflict of interest: airports want to maintain revenue and finance infrastructure, while low-cost carriers seek lower costs so that they can maintain prices and frequencies on routes with lower winter demand. Since both sides present opposing assessments of the causes, it is currently not clear whether there is room for an agreement before the start of the winter 2026 schedule. What has been confirmed is that Ryanair is already publicly counting on a reduction of the Greek winter programme and the redeployment of aircraft to other markets.
What comes next for passengers and the region
For passengers, the most important consequence of the announcement is the need to check winter itineraries to Thessaloniki, Crete and the routes that Ryanair explicitly lists as cancelled earlier than usual. Since Chania and Heraklion are among the airports where a suspension of operations is being announced for the weaker season, travel to Crete outside the summer months could rely more on Athens, other carriers or transfers. In Thessaloniki, a smaller choice of Ryanair’s direct international routes is expected, which may affect the price and availability of travel, especially for shorter visits and weekend trips. For those planning a stay in northern Greece after October 2026, it is advisable to check official flight schedules, booking-change rules and accommodation near the main transport links in Thessaloniki before finalising travel arrangements.
For the local economy, the final effect will depend on whether other airlines fill part of the gap and whether negotiations on charges continue. The Greek tourism sector has for years been trying to increase traffic outside the strongest summer months, and winter connectivity of regional airports is one of the prerequisites for such development. Ryanair claims that the cuts will harm year-round tourism, while Fraport Greece stresses that Thessaloniki remains strongly connected and infrastructurally modernised. In the absence of a common position between the two sides, the announcement can for now be interpreted as a business decision with potentially broad consequences for air connectivity in northern Greece. The next concrete indicator will be the publication and sale of the winter 2026 schedule, as well as any reactions by other carriers to the space opening up in Thessaloniki and the other affected airports.
Sources:
- Ryanair – official statement on the closure of the Thessaloniki base, the reduction of winter capacity in Greece and the list of cancelled routes (link)
- Fraport Greece – official statement rejecting Ryanair’s claims about airport charges and presenting data on the role of Thessaloniki Airport (link)
- Greek Travel Pages – report on Ryanair’s base closure, the reduction of 700,000 seats and the context of the Airport Development Fee (link)
- Greek Travel Pages – report on Fraport Greece’s response and data on Thessaloniki’s connectivity to more than 93 destinations in 33 countries (link)
- Kathimerini – report on the official announcement, the deadline for closing the base, the number of employees and the dispute over charges (link)
- Fraport Greece – traffic data for 14 regional airports in 2025 (link)
- Voria – report on traffic at Thessaloniki Airport “Makedonia” in 2025 (link)