Ryanair traffic soars while O’Leary pushes for Spain and Italy to join UK travel green list
Ryanair welcomed 1.8m passengers onboard in May, up from just 70,000 in May 2020, a 2,470 per cent increase, but boss Michael O’Leary thinks the rebound would be better if Spain, Italy and Greece were promptly added to the UK’s travel green list.
In April this year the Ryanair flew 1m passengers.
The surge in year-on-year passenger numbers reflects the fact that most of Europe was locked down and airports remained deserted a year ago during the pandemic’s first wave.
Ryanair operated over 12,000 flights last month with a 79 per cent load factor, meaning four out of every five seats were taken.
O’Leary told Sky News this mornign that the current restrictions placed on travel between the UK and EU nations was “complete bonkers”
“The vaccination programme is now stopping transmission and now it’s time that the UK, for June, July and August: add Italy, add Spain, add Greece to the green list”.
The Ryanair boss said the EU vaccination rate was “catching up quickly” to the UK’s and that he expected around 75 per cent of the adult population within the bloc to be vaccinated by the end fo this month
Shares opened down 0.5 per cent today at €17 each.
O’Leary has been pushing the UK and European Union to reopen the skies and encourage tourism now that its most-vulnerable have been vaccinated.
O’Leary called on transport minister Grant Shapps to ease international travel rules within the bloc for anyone who has been fully vaccinated at the next review of the green list due this week.
Currently the UK does not reduce travel restrictions and Covid testing requirements for arrivals who are vaccinated.