Ryanair to leave Reus for five months

Low-cost carrier Ryanair will not be operating any flights at Reus airport for five months beginning on November 6, leaving close to 300 people without work, labor union sources at the air facility said on Monday.

With Ryanair's temporary departure, the Reus airport in Tarragona will no longer have any commercial arrivals or departures.

The Spanish airport authority AENA says it is negotiating with 13 other carriers to fill the gap. Ryanair has said that it will suspended its operations for the winter season if the carrier doesn't receive a hike in the more than 3.5 million euros in government subsidies it receives each year.

An estimated 75,000 passengers relied on Ryanair's Reus route to get to the Costa Dorada. AENA contract negotiations, according to sources, are centered on talks with a Russian airline that is interested in the air route to fly in tourists.

Some 88 Ryanair workers will be left without a job but union sources believe it will be more than three times as much counting the indirect jobs.

Lluís Recoder, Tarragona's commissioner for sustainable economy and land administration, criticized AENA for not doing more to keep Ryanair from cutting back its services not only in Reus but also in Girona and Lleida.