A major regional Spanish airport and significant pilgrimage and hiking hub is set to close for over a month just as 2026’s summer season starts, bringing yet more disruption and uncertainty to Spain’s skies amid ongoing industrial action at other destinations.
Northern Spain’s second busiest airport, Santiago-Rosalía de Castro, will shut its doors from Thursday, 23 April to Wednesday, 27 May 2026. It is due to undergo critical runway maintenance during the closure. “During this period, the airport will be closed to all air traffic, and no takeoffs or landings will take place,” the airport website says. Airlines including Ryanair, Europe’s largest by passenger numbers, and Aer Lingus and Vueling will be among those whose flights will be cancelled on account of the works.
The Galician gateway to the country’s Finisterre cape, UNESCO treasures, and pilgrimage city, Santiago de Compostela, handled 3.1 million flyers in 2025, serving 30 flights per week to UK routes alone. With Spain’s tourism industry smashing consecutive benchmarks in recent years, and anticipated to continue booming, especially over the course of what will be a total eclipse summer for the region, record numbers of international arrivals are expected again in 2026, meaning the five-week shutdown will affect tens of thousands of passenger journeys.
Connectivity to the north of Spain and Santiago de Compostela in particular is facing another setback in 2026, with seat capacity slashed by 1.2 million after the announcement by Ryanair that it would be pulling out of or reducing operations at a suite of Spanish airports. For the summer season 2026, the budget Irish carrier is set to close all Asturias flights, as well as cut Santiago de Compostela back to baseline services.
The disruption comes on top of strikes at a series of other airports around the country and its territories, including the alternative Galician arrival and departure point, A Coruña. Operations at other mainland hubs, including Seville and Jerez de la Frontera, serving the Sherry-route, and the capital’s Madrid-Cuatro Vientos will be impacted by the air traffic controller walkouts, as well as Spain’s island airports, such as Fuerteventura, La Gomera, El Hierro, Lanzarote, La Palma, where union representatives have denounced working conditions and stress levels that they say compromise aeronautical safety.
Travellers who think their journey might be subject to schedule changes due to strikes or airport shutdowns should contact the relevant carriers for more information about flight status and rebooking options.
