Ryanair said it will “pivot” growth away from the UK and focus on growing European routes over the next two years, following last month’s Brexit vote.
The no-frills airline said this winter it will cut capacity and frequency on many Stansted routes.
Ryanair is the latest airline to put out cautious statements post-Brexit, warning of risks to full-year profit forecasts and fares.
“The recent UK vote to leave the European Union was both a surprise and a disappointment,” said Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary.
“We expect this result will lead to a considerable period of political and economic uncertainty in both the UK and the EU.
“This uncertainty will be damaging to economic growth and consumer confidence and we will respond as always with our load factor active/yield passive strategy.
“Until some clarity emerges over the next two years about the UK’s long term political and economic relationships with the EU, we will be unable to predict what effect it will have on our business and regulatory environment, but we have contingency plans in place for all eventualities,” he said.
O’Leary added there will be “downward pressure” on fares until the end of 2017 "at least". He added there could be implications for the three domestic routes if the UK is unable to negotiate access to the single market/open skies.
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