Ryanair, an Irish business success story, is closely monitoring the ongoing integration process in Spanish aviation, with the merger of Iberia and Air Europa. The Irish airline is said to be attentive to the opportunities that may arise, namely with regard to the release of slots that the European Commission may require.

“It seems like an operation that makes perfect sense. In Europe, there were too many companies and mergers are part of the logic of the market. We are following the process because we are interested in the eventual release of slots at different airports”, said the director of Ryanair in Spain and Portugal, Elena Cabrera, in an interview with Cinco Días.

The low-cost airline is therefore interested in gaining capacity in Madrid, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands, although Elena Cabrera signals that they are “open to any opportunity that arises” because the company is in a “growth phase in Spain”.

Ryanair will demand “an objective distribution” against the possibility of Iberia trying to liquidate the operation. The director of the company in Spain argues that Iberia should not be “who decides who delivers the production, because the normal thing is to choose someone who does not represent real competition”.

In the process of mergers in the aviation sector, the IAG group, owner of Iberia and British Airways, has been one of the main players. In addition to Air Europa, the group is also eyeing the Portuguese airline TAP, having already selected legal and communication advisors, in a sign that it intends to enter the race to buy a stake in the airline.