Covid costs Ryanair £840m as it pushes EU to step up vaccine rollout

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Ryanair warns annual losses could hit £840m: Budget airline calls for EU to step up its vaccine rollout

By Daily Mail City & Finance Reporter

Published: | Updated:

Covid slump: Ryanair said it expects to post a loss of between £740m and £840m in the year to March

Ryanair warned annual losses could hit £840million – but said Britons could be sunbathing on European beaches this summer if the EU steps up its vaccine rollout.

The no-frills airline said it expects to post a loss of between £740million and £840million in the year to March after the pandemic devastated air travel.

Recent lockdowns, £150 Covid tests at airports and the threat of expensive hotel quarantining upon returning to the UK have dealt another blow to a much hoped-for recovery.

But boss Michael O’Leary said he was ‘heartened’ by the pace of the rollout of vaccines in the UK and predicted a ‘dramatic recovery’ that could see families flock to Spanish and Greek beaches this summer.

O’Leary said: ‘We think once all those high-risk groups have been vaccinated, then the travel restrictions should be removed. 

‘So we expect to see a very strong return of British families travelling to the beaches of Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece in relative safety this summer.’

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