Ryanair to cut flight schedules by 80% due to COVID-19 impact
Europe’s largest budget airline Ryanair announced on Wednesday that it would cut its flight schedules by 80 percent starting from midnight of March 18 until midnight of March 24.
From midnight of March 24 onward, most if not all Ryanair flights including those operated by its subsidiaries Lauda and Buzz will be grounded, said the airline in a statement.
Only a very small number of flights will be maintained to meet the essential needs of connectivity, mostly between Britain and Ireland, it said.
“Ryanair will continue to stay in close contact with the Foreign Ministries of all EU Governments on the repatriation of EU citizens, and where possible we may operate rescue flights to support this repatriation,” said the company.
Ryanair cited the travel bans and restrictions imposed by more and more EU countries to contain the spread of the COVID-19 as a reason for a massive suspension of its flight service.
Headquartered in Ireland, Ryanair mainly operates short-haul flights in Europe and North Africa.