Ryanair reports €48m loss in H1

Europe's largest budget airline Ryanair said on Monday that it suffered a loss of 48 million euros in the first half of the fiscal year 2022 (H1 of FY 2022), compared to a 411-million-euro loss in the same period of the previous fiscal year.

The sharp drop in its loss was mainly due to the rapid recovery in its traffic numbers fueled by "the successful rollout of the EU (European Union) Digital COVID-19 Certificates in July", an arrangement which allows holders of such certificates to travel freely within the EU member states and some other European countries, said the airline in a statement.

In the first half of the current fiscal year, which extends from April 1 to Sept. 30 of 2021, Ryanair handled a total of 39.1 million passengers, up 128 percent from the 17.1 million passengers it handled a year ago, it said.

The traffic growth boosted the company's revenue by 83 percent to 2.15 billion euros, it added.

Lower fares also contributed to the increase of its traffic numbers, said the Ireland-headquartered airline, adding that the average fares were only 33 euros, down 30 percent on the first half of the previous fiscal year.

Ryanair said in the statement that its order for 210 new B737-8200 "Gamechanger" aircraft will ensure its position as a leading budget airline in Europe in the next decade.

The B737-8200 aircraft offer 4 percent more seats, but consume 16 percent less fuel and emits 40 percent less noise, said the airline, adding that it will take the delivery of the 210 aircraft over the next five years with the first batch of over 65 aircraft to be received by the summer of 2022.

The airline also said that it aims to increase its annual traffic to 225 million passengers in the fiscal year 2026, which will represent a 50-percent growth from 149 million passengers it handled in the pre-pandemic year.

Over the next five years, Ryanair will also create 5,000 new jobs for pilots, cabin crew and engineers, said the statement, adding that it also plans to invest over 100 million euros in setting up two more training centers possibly in Spain and Poland during this period.

Ryanair currently has a workforce of 16,000 people. Prior to the pandemic, the company had an estimated 19,000 employees, according to the figures released by the airline on its website.