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Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie
A Ryanair plane at Dublin airport earlier this month.
# Flights
Ryanair reduces flights to Spain after country imposes lockdown to tackle coronavirus
Spain is the worst-hit country in Europe after Italy.
RYANAIR SAYS THAT it is reducing its flights to Spain, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands until the 19 March.
The airline will “severely reduce” flights to the country over the coming days.
The decision comes after Spain imposed a near-total nationwide lockdown, banning people from leaving home except to go to work, get medical care and buy food.
The disease has claimed 196 lives in the country so far, making it the worst-hit European nation after Italy.
The Irish government is currently advising against non-essential travel to Spain.
In a statement this morning, a spokesperson for the company apologised to all the customers affected and said that it was asking “all affected customers by email to advise them of their options and we urge customers not to call us”.
“This is a fast-moving and complex situation and the safety and well-being of our people and customers is our main priority. We will continue to comply fully with all WHO and EASA guidelines and we will follow any travel restrictions that are imposed,” the spokesperson added.
Earlier this week, Aer Lingus and Ryanair announced the full suspension of their flight schedules both into and out of Italy after the country was placed in lockdown.
This morning, Aer Lingus said that it was requesting “that only those due to fly with us in the next 72 hours contact our call centre”
“While we have expanded our call centre and social media teams in recent days, we know that guests experiencing flight disruption are having difficulty getting through to us,” a spokesperson said.
The company said that it was advising people who want to change their flights to do so online on the Aer Lingus website.
Both airlines have removed flight change fees for a period due to Covid-19.
