The low-cost airline Ryanair reaffirmed on Tuesday that it will cease operations in the Azores from 29 March.

In response to the Lusa news agency, the Irish carrier reiterated that it will cancel the six routes it currently operates in the Azores archipelago, citing the “high airport fees” charged by ANA Aeroportos and the “inaction” of the Government, which “increased air navigation fees by 120%” after the Covid-19 pandemic and “introduced a two-euro travel tax, at a time when other European Union states are abolishing travel taxes”.

When questioned today by Lusa, the AHP representative in the Azores, Andreia Pavão, said that Ryanair's departure will mean “a substantial loss of available seats”.

According to Andreia Pavão, Ryanair represents a specific market segment that could lead to “some dynamic readjustment in the price of air transport” in a market considered “very relevant” to the region, namely the domestic market, which holds “a substantial share of demand”.

“We don’t know if this loss of seats offered by this company can eventually be compensated by reinforcements from either TAP or SATA.

Therefore, we don’t know whether this will happen this summer. There is a lot of uncertainty here,” argued Andreia Pavão.

The businesswoman recalled that other airlines have announced new routes for this summer, but that “they may or may not eventually compensate for this loss of seats offered” by the Irish carrier.

However, she pointed out, “it won’t be in the same market” and business owners are apprehensive.

“We will have an adjustment of overnight stays across different markets,” stressed the head of AHP, admitting that the impact of Ryanair’s departure should be felt more in the winter than in the summer, since at that time the Azores depend heavily on the domestic market.

In other words, next winter there will be a more pronounced "accentuation of seasonality" than "what has already been seen with the gradual reduction" of air service, she said.

"Ryanair is fulfilling what it has threatened to do, which is to withdraw. First, it removed its base, and now it is leaving," said the official, adding that, at this stage, "no one is surprised."

The representative of the Portuguese Hotel Association in the Azores also defended the need for "a readjustment" of the air strategy for the region, calling for reflection on the possibility of strengthening daily connections.

"It is necessary to try to understand to what extent there could be a reinforcement of daily connections by TAP or Azores Airlines," she argued.