Ryanair has more than doubled its annual loss forecast and reduced its estimated passenger flow in January by a third in response to travel restrictions imposed after the Omicron variant.
The Irish airline with the largest passenger traffic in Europe said it expects a net loss of 250 million euros (212 million pounds) to 450 million euros in the year to the end of March. In contrast, the previously predicted loss was 100 million to 200 million euros.
Sign up for Daily Business Today email or follow Guardian Business on Twitter @BusinessDesk
The airline lowered its December passenger forecast range from 10 million to 11 million to 9 million to 9.5 million.
Ryanair accused France and Germany of banning entry into the UK and suspending all EU flights to and from Morocco last weekend. The airline lowered its January passenger traffic forecast from 10 million passengers to 6 to 7 million passengers.
The company said it will wait until next month to revise its schedule for February and March, “as more scientific information about Omicron variants and their impact on hospitalizations, the European population, and/or travel restrictions becomes available.”
Ryanair said it now expects its passenger traffic to approach 100 million in the year to the end of March. It said: “These numbers are very sensitive to any further positive or negative Covid news flow.”
