Is this why your winter sun break is costing so much?

Not much sign of winter sun giving the travel industry a healthy glow.

- JAMES MOORE

Barely a day after Ryanair cut a million flights to Spain, tour operator Jet2 reduced its capacity by 200,000. If you were hoping to get some much-needed sunshine in the darker months, it's going to cost you.

What's going on? Well, Ryanair is having one of its regular ding-dongs with an airport operator, something its pugnacious boss Michael O'Leary seems to live for. The company has lambasted what it calls a “shameless” fee increase on the part of Aena, Spain's national airport operator.

The Ryanair boss might have a point. After a record year, Aena is imposing a 6.6 per cent hike in airline fees from 2026, more than double Spain's rate of inflation (2.7 per cent).

The Canary Islands – a particularly popular destination with Britons, especially in the winter months – are bearing the brunt of the cuts, with 400,000 fewer Ryanair passengers flying to those sun-kissed rocks.

Low-cost charter operator Jet2 - whose ubiquitous adverts for its package holidays use Jess Glynne's