To put it in perspective, the company raked in €243 million in profits in 2019 during the same period, a massive difference in comparison to the €185 million loss in the first quarter of 2020, a 95% decrease in total revenue.
In an attempt to offset the drop in revenue, Ryanair reduced operating costs by 85%. Regardless, the airline has seen the number of passengers sharply decline, from 42 million in 2019 to only 500,000 in 2020. Although Ryanair has worked tirelessly to expand its flight network to reopened countries, there has been push back against a British government request to suspend all nonessential flights to Spain.
Currently, all travelers arriving in the UK from Spain will be required to self-isolate for 14 days, much to the chagrin of vacationers. Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has criticized the move, calling it a “badly managed over-reaction.”
While multiple airlines such as EasyJet continue to offer flights to Spain, this could change in the coming months if the situation continues to deteriorate within the country. European airlines will continue to walk a precarious tight rope of declining revenues, passengers, and restrictions until a viable vaccine can be developed.
