Local bodies, tourism entrepreneurs and workers in the aviation industry are highly concerned about the possibility that low-cost airline Ryanair will terminate the operation of its base at “Macedonia” airport in Thessaloniki, northern Greece.
The possibility of Ryanair closing its base at Macedonia Airport from next autumn, after the end of the summer season, has caused confusion and concern among the authorities and the business world in Thessaloniki.
According to what has been made public, Ryanair’s decision to withdraw from Macedonia Airport is attributed to the fact that Fraport Greece, the airport’s management company, is proceeding with a 15% increase in fees for the renewal of the contract with Ryanair.
So far, neither Fraport nor Ryanair have confirmed or denied the above agreement.
The president of the Professional Chamber of Thessaloniki, Kyriakos Merelis, has rung alarm warning of “incalculable consequences” from the closure of the Ryanair base in Thessaloniki.
Termination of the operation of the Ryanair base will lead to the removal of the company’s three aircraft permanently stationed at the Thessaloniki airport, destroying approximately 200 jobs of various specialties. These employees are Ryanair staff or third-party partner companies.
At the same time, a possible termination of the base could lead to a drastic reduction in the company’s presence in the city, with a domino effect given the fact that the company’s base in Thessaloniki serves 37 different destinations.
For a market like that of Northern Greece, where passenger traffic depends largely on low-cost carriers, such an upheaval would have direct effects on tourism, catering, short-term rentals and the local economy as a whole. A possible limitation of Ryanair’s presence may reduce international connectivity, increase travel costs and affect the competitiveness of the destination.
The possibility of the termination is reportedly linked to the broader disagreements between the company and the manager of Greece’s 14 regional airports, Fraport Greece, and is due exclusively to the issue of airport fees, which has long been a point of friction between the Irish low-cost carrier and airport administrations.
“Due is the renewal of the contract with Fraport raising its fee by 15%” local thestival.gr reported.
Although there is no comment from Fraport and no official announcement by Ryanair on its intentions, a burning issue is the upcoming increase in airline fees, which has been discussed with the companies since the end of last January.
Sources close to the case told daily ethnos.gr that the fees at airports under Fraport’s control are regulated and directly linked to inflation, as stipulated in the concession agreement.
An emergency meeting was held on the issue in the municipality of Thessaloniki on Monday, while today, Tuesday, a new online meeting has been scheduled this time with representatives of Ryanair that will be asked to provide a written announcement of its final decision as well as a statement of its concerns.
It is not the first time the low-cost Ryanair is threatening airports managing companies with withdrawal as in the Athens International airport, a few years ago.
