Ryanair says that it expects a return to pre-Covid levels
of traffic in summer 2022.
Announcing its Q1 2021-22 financial year (FY22) results,
the airline said, “As we look beyond the Covid-19 recovery, and the successful
completion of vaccination rollouts, the Ryanair group expects to have a
materially lower cost base, a very strong balance sheet and industry leading
traffic recovery.
“We are seeing a strong rebound of pent-up travel
demand into August and September and we expect this to continue into the second
half of FY22, with pre Covid-19 growth planned to resume strongly in summer
2022.”
The carrier said that traffic for its first quarter
was 8.1 million passengers, up from 0.5 million last year at the start of the
pandemic. Revenue jumped from €125 million in 2020 to €371 million in 2021.
Despite the growth in passenger numbers, the
airline reported a net loss of €273 million, against €185 million in 2020.
Ryanair group CEO, Michael O’Leary, said: “Covid-19 continued to wreak
havoc on our business during Q1 with most Easter flights cancelled and a slower
than expected easing of EU government travel restrictions into May and
June. Significant uncertainty around travel green lists (particularly in
the UK) and extreme government caution in Ireland meant that Q1 bookings were
close-in and at low fares.
“The 1 July rollout of EU digital Covid certificates and the
scrapping of quarantine for vaccinated arrivals to the UK from mid-July has
seen a surge in bookings over recent weeks. Pricing remains below pre
Covid-19 levels.”
The airline says it has more than €4 billion in cash on its balance sheet.