Ryanair, Europe’s and Spain’s number one airline, today (17 August) called on the Spanish Government to intervene urgently to address the growing capacity and staffing problems at ENAIRE’s air traffic control, after Spain overtook France as Europe’s worst ATC provider.
So far in 2026, delays caused by Spanish air traffic control (ATC) have risen by 28 per cent compared with last year, with more than 32,600 Ryanair flights delayed and nearly 6 million Ryanair passengers affected. Almost one in ten Ryanair flights operating in Spanish airspace has been delayed due to Spanish ATC.
The Area Control Centres (ACCs) in Barcelona, Madrid and Seville have caused delays to more than 15,700 Ryanair flights this year and continue to rank among the worst-performing ATC centres in Europe due to chronic staff shortages and inadequate capacity planning.
Most worryingly, Eurocontrol has now identified Madrid, Barcelona and Seville as ATC centres requiring special measures to cope with traffic demand for the remainder of the summer of 2026. This is a striking admission, given that the summer timetables were published months ago and the growth in traffic was entirely foreseeable.
Earlier this summer, ENAIRE claimed that its ‘70-measure’ programme would improve performance, but the results show the opposite. If the measures were working, delays would be decreasing. Instead, Spain has overtaken France to become Ryanair’s worst ATC provider in Europe. Passengers, visitors and airlines in Spain deserve better than excuses, staff shortages and recurring delays.
Neal McMahon, Ryanair’s Chief Operations Officer, said: “Spain has achieved something we thought impossible. It has overtaken France to become Europe’s worst ATC provider.
“So far this year, delays caused by Spanish ATC have risen by 28 per cent, with over 32,600 Ryanair flights delayed and nearly 6 million passengers affected. The centres in Barcelona, Madrid and Seville alone have caused delays to more than 15,700 Ryanair flights, whilst one in ten Ryanair flights this year has been delayed due to Spanish ATC.
“The traffic was not unexpected. The summer schedule came as no surprise. Eurocontrol had known for months what the traffic levels would be. However, ENAIRE failed to recruit, plan for and deploy enough air traffic controllers to manage the demand.
“The clearest evidence of this failure is that Eurocontrol has warned that special measures will need to be introduced in Madrid, Barcelona and Seville to cope with the rest of the summer. This comes after ENAIRE claimed that its programme of ‘70 measures’ would resolve the problem.
“The “70 measures” announced by ENAIRE at the start of this summer are clearly insufficient. If they were working, delays would be decreasing. Instead, Spain now tops the European rankings for ATC delays and is disrupting the travel plans of millions of passengers, as well as damaging Spain’s reputation as one of Europe’s leading tourist markets.
“The Spanish Government must stop accepting excuses from ENAIRE and demand urgent action: more air traffic controllers, better shift planning, adequate staffing levels at the main ACCs and airports, and measurable reductions in delays. The Spanish tourism industry, passengers and airlines deserve results, not more propaganda from ENAIRE.”