Ryanair will cut 3,000 jobs and ground 99% of flights through June

Ryanair usually operates low-cost flights to more than 200 destinations mostly in Europe, playing a vital role in supporting smaller regional airports and the continent’s massive tourism industry.

The sector is expected to be particularly hard hit this summer, with countries such as Spain, Italy, France and Greece — among the world’s most visited destinations — bracing for a dramatic decline in international visitors.

The budget carrier said it expected to carry fewer than 150,000 passengers in the April to June period, compared with its budget target of 42.4 million. For July to September, it now expects to carry no more than 50% of its original traffic target of 44.6 million passengers.

“Ryanair now expects the recovery of passenger demand and pricing (to 2019 levels) will take at least two years, until summer 2022 at the earliest,” it said, adding that it expects to report a net loss of over €100 million ($109.7 million) in the April to June quarter, with more losses to come.

This will allow these carriers to fund “many years of below cost selling,” Ryanair said, adding that it plans to challenge these bailouts in court because it believes they are in breach of EU state aid rules.