Jason McGuiness, the commercial director of Ryanair, has announced that he has agreed to join hands with Miguel Albuquerque, the president of the Regional Government, in Madeira.
Together, the two parties have planned on intensifying efforts to pressure ANA/Vinci not to apply any excessive and unjustifiable increases in airport taxes.
The two organizations believe that a hike in taxes levied at the airport could have a major impact on the economy, especially the travel and tourism sector.
This decision was confirmed by McGuiness, which was announced shortly after he had a meeting with the head of the Regional Government.
Ryanair
The meeting was scheduled soon after the low-budget carrier announced that it was going to be reducing its plans in Madeira from two to one. This is all set to begin in the upcoming year.
According to other sources, the carrier also aims to cut down on traffic in Porto and Faro from next year due to a surge in airport fees by ANA/Vinci.
In the words of McGuiness, the chair of the Madeiran government has agreed to join forces with the carrier and the two will be cooperating fully in this regard.
He went on to argue that the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) should conduct an intervention in this case and pressure Vinci not to increase the taxes.
Instead, the director believes that the Vinci should be convinced to reduce the fee charged at airports.
McGuiness went on to add that such a move becomes necessary to cut down on taxes in Madeira and boost the economy, as well as the tourism sector.
Tourism
The commercial head of Ryanair further considered that it was time to start taking control of the airport for the residents of Madeira.
He added that the carrier is hoping to double the number of tourists in Portugal in the next five years.
It is his goal to increase the number of planes flying to the area, with prospective plans being to go from two to five.
Moreover, the director added that from January of 2024, Ryanair is going to be making a 50% reduction from the two to one aircraft that is based in Madeira.
McGuiness additionally disclosed that three routes are likely to be canceled, specifically those going to Bergamo, Nuremberg, and Marseille.
He claimed that the company formerly transported a total of 700,000 passengers on the route to Madeira.
In his words, the route is expected to only carry 400,000 people in the coming year, which will reduce the frequency from ten daily connections to only seven.
The plan
In the words of the director of the low-budget carrier, Ryanair had initially planned to grow, but the airport owner continues to hike the fee.
He believes that such hikes would not be feasible in the long run, given that airports should be trying to reduce fees to boost tourism.
In the month of October, the ANA had initially unfolded plans, which revealed that it would be raising the charges by an average of 14.6% across all of its airports.
Consequently, it would account for an average increase of $1.74, with the highest surge being in Lisbon.
