Ryanair expects air passenger numbers to bounce back in 2021

Ryanair expects air passenger numbers to bounce back to near normal levels by next summer, defying industry predictions that it could take years for growth to return after the pandemic. The airline’s CE, Michael O’Leary, said passenger volumes should reach 75-80% of pre-Covid levels in 2021, especially if a vaccine was developed by the spring. While he admitted winter was a “write-off”, he claimed Ryanair was poised “at the dawn of an extraordinary era of growth” with a fleet of new planes arriving, and was emerging from the pandemic with a strong balance sheet, in a position to offer low fares to stimulate travel. O’Leary said he was optimistic that Covid vaccines would be rolled out before the peak summer season in 2021. “There’s going to be an enormous snapback on travel demand … Mrs O’Leary is very keen to go back to the Algarve and I suspect she’d be there in 2.5 nanoseconds after the coronavirus restrictions are lifted. I think she’s reflective of the overwhelming majority of Europe’s population, and they will go back,” O’Leary said. “We’re going to see a surge of that intra-European tourism next year, and we need to be there to provide the capacity at low prices.” Ryanair has cut capacity for winter, but not yet as drastically as its rival easyJet. O’Leary added: “I’ve heard a lot of rubbish coming from legacy airlines that it’ll be 2035 till the volumes come back. Rubbish. Volumes will go back in 2021 or 2022 pretty quickly – they will go back because Ryanair will discount prices, hotels will discount.”<br/>