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Low-cost airline Ryanair flew just 40,000 passengers last month as the coronavirus crisis brought air travel to a standstill, and warned that operations will continue to be affected throughout May and June.<\/p>\nLow-cost airline Ryanair flew just 40,000 passengers last month as the coronavirus crisis brought air travel to a standstill, and warned that operations will continue to be affected throughout May and June.<\/p>\n
The Dublin-based carrier \u2013 which last week announced it is axing 3,000 jobs \u2013 saw the number of passengers flown collapse 99.6% from 13.5 million a year ago after flights were grounded to help slow the spread of the pandemic.<\/p>\n
The group ran 600 scheduled flights in April \u2013 including rescue and medical flights on behalf of various EU governments \u2013 compared with the 75,501 it had been expected to operate before the Covid-19 outbreak.<\/p>\n
\u201cDue to multiple EU government flight bans and restrictions, Ryanair expects to carry minimal traffic during the months of May and June as well,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n
The group joined rivals in announcing thousands of job losses last week as it faces an unprecedented aviation crisis and warned that flights will remain grounded until \u201cat least July\u201d.<\/p>\n
Ryanair is cutting up to 3,000 jobs across pilots and cabin crew in a restructuring program which could also involve unpaid leave and salaries being slashed by up to 20%, as well as the closure of a number of aircraft bases across Europe.<\/p>\n
Chief executive Michael O\u2019Leary, whose has also agreed to halve his pay, does not believe passenger demand will recover until summer 2022 at the earliest.<\/p>\n
Airlines around the world are facing a struggle to survive due to the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n
Last week it was announced that up to 12,000 British Airways workers are to lose their jobs, which is more than one in four employees.<\/p>\n
The industries struggle may lead to the costs of flying increasing significantly after the pandemic.<\/p>\n
“The costs of running an airport is very significant,” Aer Arann founder Padraig \u00d3 Ceidigh explained. “Obviously that cost is passed onto the airline, which is passed onto the passenger.<\/p>\n