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Ryanair records annual loss of €815M due to COVID travel restrictions

Date: May 18, 2021 Sunil Jha Sunil Jha
Ryanair records annual loss of €815M due to COVID travel restrictions 
Irish airline, Ryanair, has reportedly recorded a loss of €815 million (approx. £701 million) in 12 months up to 31st March 2021. The figures are against a year-earlier profit of €1 billion. The loss was recorded following an 81% plunge in what the company said was the most challenging year till date.  



As per the largest discounted airline in Europe, number of passengers dropped to 27.5 million the previous year from a value of 149 million in 2019. Ryanair blamed the poor numbers on European governments, claiming that they imposed travel restrictions, uncoordinated flight bans, and national lockdowns with little notice amid the outbreak.



According to Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s Chief Executive, until there are some very adverse developments, all of the indications signify that there is going to be stronger demand for European holidays than usual. These developments comprise either a fallover in the delivery of vaccines or some variant which looks like it is resistant to the vaccine.



However, the airline is hopeful that the launch of the vaccine would help the company in recovering from an unprecedented year of disruption for the aviation sector. As per Ryanair, it is likely to break even in 2021, in the absence of further disruption.



Ryanair anticipates traffic to recover as governments commence to lift restrictions of international travel, with forecasts for nearly 80 million to 120 million passengers through the current financial year. The airline expects to fly just 5 to 6 million passengers between the months of April and June.



The airline anticipates that European air travel will be materially lower in the near future. However, it projects a strong recovery in jobs, air travel, and tourism during the latter half of the year.



While travelers will not be needed to provide a permitted reason for flying internationally, the people returning to England will be required to follow a traffic light system that will need them to isolate in a hotel or home depending on the country of their visit.



Source credit: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/may/17/ryanair-loss-covid-flights-vaccine

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Sunil Jha

Sunil Jha has been a part of the content industry for close to two years. Having previously worked as a voice over artist and sportswriter, he now focuses on writing articles for newsorigins.com, across a slew of topics, ranging from technology to trade and finance. With a business-oriented educational background, Sunil brings forth the expertise of deep-dive research and a strategic approach in his write ups.