Bookings slump as flights grounded
RYANAIR has issued a profit warning as furious passengers boycott the strike-hit airline.
It said full-year profits would crash 12% lower than expected – from £1.2billion down to £978m.
Ryanair blamed pilot and cabin crew strikes in September that knocked passenger numbers and sparked compensation costs.
The disputes also hit customer confidence, with passengers making fewer forward bookings.
That was on top of rising oil prices, which have bumped up its fuel bill by 10%. Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary said: “While we successfully managed five strikes by 25% of our Irish pilots this summer, two recent co-ordinated strikes by cabin crew and pilots across five EU countries has affected passenger numbers.” CONCERN: O’Leary