Spanish low-cost airline Volotea plans to reduce between 10% and 11% of its capacity between November 2026 and February 2027, compared to the previous winter, according to Cirium data. Lille, Bordeaux, Brest and Nantes are the French airports most affected by this reduction, which includes the freezing of frequencies, the seasonal closure of routes and the suspension of regional bases.
In Lille-Lesquin, where Volotea became the first operator, more than 700 flights are withdrawn between the beginning of October 2026 and spring 2027, which could affect around 100,000 passengers on connections to Spain, Morocco, Greece, Turkey and Italy. In Bordeaux-Mérignac, supply falls by about 35% in the fourth quarter and eight connections will no longer operate in winter, including Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Tenerife-South, Rome and Prague. The Brest-Bretagne base closes during the winter, with a drop of about 30% in local activity, and frequencies decrease in Lyon, Marseille and Toulouse.
The cuts respond to the doubling of the price of kerosene since the beginning of the year and the renegotiation of the debt. On September 30, the company opened a negotiation process with creditors at the Barcelona commercial court to renegotiate, by December, between 250 and 300 million euros of liabilities. Part of the sector doubts, according to La Quotidienne, that the reduction of the network will make it possible to recover the profitability necessary to pay this debt.
Volotea guarantees that there will be no more cancellations in 2026 and that affected passengers can request a refund or re-routing. The summer 2027 operation will depend on the agreement with creditors by December. For agencies and operators, cancellations require close monitoring of bookings and alternative solutions for affected customers.
