Calling a government minister a ‘failure’ on camera isn’t exactly how most airlines usually try to keep their routes open. But Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary has done exactly that this week, and Spain’s transport minister hit back just as hard.

‘Fracasado’: O’Leary’s video brands Puente a failure

Michael O’Leary, chief executive of the Ryanair Group, posted a video on Wednesday August 26 accusing Spain’s Transport Minister Óscar Puente of getting his facts wrong about the airline’s shrinking presence at the country’s regional airports. In it, O’Leary said Ryanair is flying 648 aircraft this summer, 29 more than a year earlier, and expects to carry 216 million passengers in 2026, eight million more than the 208 million it carried in 2025. However, none of that extra growth, he said, is reaching regional Spain, where he accused Puente of presiding over high aviation taxes and uneconomic airport fees at empty airports. He pointed to Slovakia, Ireland, Sweden and regional Italy scrapping aviation taxes this year, and dismissed Puente’s claim that Spain already has among the lowest in Europe as false. 

He finished by saying he would send Puente a copy of “Basic Math for Dummies”, calling the minister “a dummy” who needs to learn to add, subtract and “maybe read”.

Puente hits back: ‘I know how to add perfectly’ 

Puente rejected the insult and turned O’Leary’s own figures back on him. He said the cuts stem from delayed deliveries of Boeing’s 737 MAX-8200 aircraft, which he said have “conditioned” Ryanair’s scheduling, since airlines plan routes six to 18 months ahead through the International Air Transport Association (IATA). He said Spanish airport fees are low enough that a Ryanair figure took home a €100 million bonus last year, according to reporting cited in his reply, and insisted he “knows how to add perfectly”.

Puente closed by telling O’Leary that if he dislikes Spain’s rules, he can fly elsewhere, echoing a line Ryanair’s own Spanish social media account once posted at customers in July 2025: “Dislike our rules? Walk to your destination.” 

Could the real cost be bases and routes disappearing across regional Spain?

Behind the insults sits a genuine dispute over money. AENA raised its 2026 airport charge by 6.62 per cent, taking the average fee to around €11.03 per passenger, and Ryanair blames that rise for the cuts it is now making. The airline has already closed bases at Santiago de Compostela, Valladolid, Jerez de la Frontera, Tenerife Norte and Vigo as part of its winter 2025-26 schedule, and a further 36 direct routes are being cancelled from regional and Canary Islands airports this year. 

Airports on the Peninsula are losing roughly 41 per cent of Ryanair’s seats, about 600,000 in total, while the Canary Islands lose closer to 10 per cent, or 400,000 seats. That capacity is being redirected to Morocco, Italy, Croatia and Albania, while Madrid, Barcelona, Palma and Málaga are all gaining flights instead. Ryanair has previously said it could reverse the cuts if fees at regional airports come down.

It’s not the first time O’Leary has picked a fight with a Spanish minister 

This is not the first Spanish minister O’Leary has had dealings with. In February 2025, Ryanair ran an advertising campaign dressing then-Consumer Rights Minister Pablo Bustinduy as a clown and branding him a “mad communist” over the fines the government had imposed on low-cost airlines for charging extra for cabin baggage. Bustinduy said at the time he was “not offended”.

O’Leary isn’t scared to put on the gloves well beyond Spain too. He has clashed publicly with Wetherspoons boss Tim Martin over airport drinking limits, dismissed Ireland’s own parliament as “full of teachers”, and once challenged Elon Musk to an arm wrestle to settle a row over Starlink.

The Ryanair boss clearly knows how and when to stand up for his company, even if the medium is a little unorthodox for a CEO. For now, the routes are the tally that matters. While the war of words plays out online, five Spanish airports have already lost their Ryanair base, and Puente’s ministry has yet to signal any change to the fees behind it.

Residents across Axarquia and Costa Tropical are planning to gather at 8pm on Wednesday, September 2, Ceuta Day, in a civic show of support for the people of the Spanish city. Many will carry Spanish flags as a simple gesture of solidarity on Ceuta’s official day.

Confirmed local meeting points include Plaza España in Motril, Plaza de la Constitución in Almuñecar, and Plaza Al-Andalus in Rincon de la Victoria. Other towns are also expected to join the nationwide call for gatherings at town halls and central squares.

Peaceful gatherings planned across Spain

Organisers have stressed that the events are intended as peaceful, non-political expressions of support for Ceuta’s residents. Councils and local groups are calling for a family-friendly atmosphere, with people invited to attend simply to show their support.

Ceuta Day is the official day of the Spanish autonomous city and has traditionally been an important occasion for residents. This year’s gatherings are expected to bring together local families, Spanish residents and expats who want to demonstrate their connection with Ceuta and its people.

Participants are not expected to need to bring anything other than, for those who wish, a Spanish flag. The gatherings are designed to be straightforward civic events rather than demonstrations, with attendees meeting at 8pm at designated locations.

Traffic could be busier around town halls

Town-centre plazas and nearby streets are likely to be busier than usual from about 7.30pm. Drivers should expect slower traffic, temporary parking pressure and possible short delays around council buildings and central squares.

Anyone travelling through Motril, Almuñecar, Rincon de la Victoria or other coastal towns that evening should allow extra time for their journey. Parking a little further from the centre or using public transport where possible could also make getting around easier.

People who are not attending may prefer to avoid the immediate town-centre streets around the meeting points until after 8pm, particularly if they are making a short evening journey through the centre.

More towns could join the Ceuta Day call

Additional meeting points may be announced before Wednesday, September 2, as more municipalities and local groups decide to take part.

Residents should check their local council’s social media pages for the latest information, including any changes to meeting points, access arrangements or temporary traffic restrictions.

For those taking part, the message is intended to be a simple one: standing together with the people of Ceuta on their official day.

Ceuta’s regional day usually passes with a quiet medal ceremony and general celebration throughout the city, but this year it is drawing rallies to town halls and city squares in more than 30 places across Spain. The gatherings directly follow the migration crisis that disrupted the city at the end of July. 

Local councils asked to support Ceuta from 8pm on September 2

The Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP), which represents town halls and provincial councils nationwide, has called for gatherings outside town halls at 8pm on Wednesday September 2, Ceuta’s regional day. The invitation covers all 8,132 Spanish municipalities, though FEMP has confirmed only that several councils have agreed to take part rather than claiming universal participation.

FEMP President María José García-Pelayo said Ceuta was “in intensive care” and needed the government to act “in a proportionate way”, describing the aftermath of the crisis as the most difficult moment in the city’s recent history.

García-Pelayo has also given up her seat on the EU’s Committee of the Regions so that Ceuta’s president, Juan Vivas, can represent the city directly in Brussels, and FEMP’s next governing board meeting, on September 29, will be held in Ceuta itself.

Fuengirola and Torremolinos on the Costa del Sol are among the councils that have already confirmed events.

A separate citizen movement has spread to far more than 30 cities

Alongside the official FEMP call, a decentralised citizen campaign called Por Ceuta has organised its own concentrations for the same evening, under messages including “Toda España por Ceuta” (All of Spain for Ceuta) and “Ceuta no está sola. España está con Ceuta” (Ceuta is not alone. Spain is with Ceuta).

🇪🇸 TODA ESPAÑA POR CEUTA 🇪🇸

El próximo 2 de septiembre, Día de Ceuta, nos manifestamos en toda España.

🗓️ 2 de septiembre
🕗 20:00 h
📍 Frente a los ayuntamientos de toda España

Por Ceuta. Por nuestras fronteras. Por España.

Que se escuche en cada rincón del país: CEUTA NO… pic.twitter.com/BDRmQGQKcP

— Muy.Mona/🇪🇸💚 (@Capitana_espana) August 19, 2026

Unlike the FEMP appeal, this strand carries no formal municipal backing. It began on social media and has since spread all over Spain, including cities like Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla, Málaga, Zaragoza and Bilbao, according to organisers’ own published lists. 

The overlap between the two calls means turnout in some places could combine both official and grassroot participants. An expected attendance figure has not yet been published.

“Ceuta is not for sale, Ceuta defends itself”

In Ceuta itself, the Neighbourhood Associations Federation (FPAV) has called a separate march under the slogan “Ceuta no se vende, Ceuta se defiende” (Ceuta is not for sale, Ceuta defends itself).

The march sets off at 7pm from the Patio de Armas at the Murallas Reales, the city’s fortified walls, and follows a route through the old town before ending outside the Government Delegation. Organisers have asked participants to leave political and ideological banners at home and to bring Spanish or Ceuta flags instead.

A month on, the government sets up a single command

The gatherings come a month after the crisis at the border that dominated headlines through late July and into August, as Spain shifts from emergency response to a longer-term plan for the city.

On Wednesday, the Spanish government announced a new single command structure for the crisis, led by Territorial Policy Minister Ángel Víctor Torres and including Vivas, the government’s Ceuta delegate and national security officials, alongside an expanded socioeconomic plan for the city worth more than €180 million.

Whether the show of support on September 2 changes anything about that response is, for now, the open question hanging over what should have been the regular annual celebration day for the city.