LONDON â ???? Ryanair said on Monday it would operate a « significantly reduced scheduled flight » in the next six months from its initial expectations as governments across Europe tighten social restrictions
The statement comes just two days after the UK The government announced a second lockdown in England from November 5 Last week the French and German governments also presented plans for a second national lockdown Meanwhile, many governments across Europe have also tightened restrictions in recent days as they grapple with a second wave of coronavirus infections
« The WHO (World Health Organization) itself has confirmed that lockdowns should be the last option, lockdowns are essentially a failure, » Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary told Monday at » CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe «
« If we had a more aggressive test and tracing provision, or like (UK Prime Minister) Boris Johnson promised world class testing and tracing, which we clearly don’t have in the UK, we would have could and would have avoided a second lockdown, « O’Leary added
The low cost airline has been hit hard by home orders in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic The company on Monday announced a 78% drop in revenue between April and September compared to its performance as one year ago Ryanair also saw an 80% drop in customer numbers in those six months
« It is clear that air transport is on the front lines of this pandemic And we believe the only way out of this situation is for governments, the British, Irish and other European governments, to introduce tests before the start, ”O’Leary told CNBC
« We expect intra-European air transport capacity to remain moderate over the next few years, » Ryanair said in a statement
O’Leary added that there will be « a significant number of essential trips taking place this winter, but basically we’re talking about a number that is less than a third of our normal »
However, the company believes the crisis will « create opportunities » in the future, such as an increase in its fleet and lower airport costs
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Ryanair, CEO Michael O’Leary
World news – GB – Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary denounces government lockdowns as traffic drops by 80%
