Ryanair's decision to pull out of Valencia has dealt another blow to the Spanish region still suffering from the negative publicity surrounding the 'land grab' saga, and has highlighted the importance for overseas buyers of choosing the right location.
Ryanair announced on 24 October that it was closing its base at Valencia - with more than 70 weekly flights and 750,000 annual passengers - after the local government failed to promote the region and the airport across Europe.
It is the latest, and the most significant, cancellation of flights that has taken place since the credit crunch began to bite a year ago. But a number of other low-cost flights have been cancelled on routes that served overseas property owners and in many cases were influential in persuading them to buy their property in the first place. The Official Airline Guide predicted some 60 routes will close this winter, with Flybe reducing services to Brest, Faro, Alicante and Malaga and axing four other routes altogether, EasyJet reducing flights to France, Spain and Italy by an estimated 20% and British Airways cutting back flights to Milan and Bordeaux.
Some flights have been cut just for the winter - Ryanair's route to Rodez in France, or Monarch's flight to Granada, for example - and it remains to be seen whether a full schedule will be re-introduced in the summer.
The options for those who've come to rely upon a particular route are either to look for an alternative carrier or to fly to the nearest available airport and drive further at the other end. Instead of Granada, home-owners in Andalucía are having to drive to Malaga, for example; while those heading to Rodez in the Midi-Pyrenees are having to land at Toulouse or Montpellier and drive an extra couple of hours to their destination.
If you're looking for somewhere to buy, the availability of flights from more than one airline becomes an important factor. Airlines won't run uneconomic routes for the benefit of home owners. As Michael O'Leary, chief executive of Ryanair once famously put it: "Please don't ask me to feel sorry for rich people with second homes in France." On the plus side, it does mean that some of those quiet places, traditionally off the beaten path, will stay that way. So if you're looking to genuinely get away from other Brits, the fewer flights the better.
Alexander Garrett is a freelance property writer who contributes regularly to The Observer and British Airways' Business Life.