Ryanair warns it will cost more to fly to Europe this summer – here’s why Bedford News

Ryanair has warned that plane tickets to European destinations will be more expensive this summer due to an increase in demand.

Flight prices could increase by almost 10% thanks to the lifting of pandemic travel restrictions.

The low-cost airline’s chief executive also said there were likely to be continued delays at airports, blaming staff shortages.

Ryanair chief executive Micheal O’Leary has told people at airports such as Manchester and Heathrow to arrive well in advance due to travel chaos and lack of staff.

Mr O’Leary’s comments mark the last price alert ahead of the peak season, as holiday giant TUI said last week it would not offer last-minute, low-cost deals this summer due a recovery in customer demand.

Ryanair has reported that prices will rise over the next few months due to a reduction of around 15% in European flight schedules across the sector over the summer.

The group said its peak rates for this summer could exceed prices seen before the pandemic.

Ryanair’s loss for the year to March 31 was lower than expected and down from losses of €1.02bn (£867m) recorded the year before when trading fell been hard hit by the pandemic.

Mr O’Leary told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘For the current September quarter, based on around 50% of all bookings, we expect prices to rise to single digits. percent.

“It looks to us that there will be higher prices during this peak summer period because there is so much demand for beaches in Europe and these price increases are going to continue.”

He revealed news of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine cost Ryanair around a million bookings in late February and early March 2022.

Mr O’Leary told the programme: “I think it’s very difficult to predict, we expect Ryanair to operate around 115% of our pre-Covid capacity this summer.”

“I think prices will be low next winter. But it’s too early to say there’s clearly going to be an economic downturn, there’s some fear of recession and in a recession the cheapest supplier, which in the UK and Europe is Ryanair, will better, but will do better because we can keep prices lower.