Ryanair traffic slides 91% in March as travel restrictions bite
Ryanair traffic slumped 91% in March as it continues to take a hit from Covid-related restrictions, the budget airline said on Tuesday.
Ryanair Holdings (CDI)
€14.41
17:14 17/12/21
Travel & Leisure
7,497.32
14:45 25/04/24
Passenger numbers declined to 500,000 from 5.5m in March 2020, while rolling annual traffic slid 81% to 27.5m.
The airline said it operated around 5% of its normal March schedule, with a 77% load factor.
In his latest statement on the lockdown roadmap on Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was "hopeful" foreign travel could resume on 17 May but that more data is needed before a decision can be made. He urged people not to book summer holidays until the picture is clearer.
Broker Peel Hunt said: "That the UK government continues to advise against booking now is likely to restrict short-term cash flow and make yield management much more difficult. The risk that destinations move from green to amber or red is also likely to discourage international travel and may result in overcapacity and depressed yields.
"Whilst Ryanair is not trading on current-year multiples, a worse S21 is likely to result in higher net debt and may mean consumer behaviour changes permanently. Demand for holidays should return as soon as it is permitted, but Ryanair is not purely a holiday company, and demand for business travel and migration, to which it is also exposed, may not."