Ryanair and other popular airlines with Britons reported record-low flight numbers last month due to the coronavirus crisis. The deadly virus, which has claimed the lives of 250,000 worldwide, has seen the travel and tourism industry come to almost a complete halt with thousands losing jobs. The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has predicted a global loss of 75 million jobs and $2.1trillion (£1.69trillion) in revenue.
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The US is expected to lose $910billion (£730.5billion) alone, with more people expected to be deterred from international travel in the future.
Budget airline Ryanair revealed that they flew just 40,000 passengers last month amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The number of passengers who boarded flights dropped by a staggering 99.6 percent.
In April, the airline ran 600 flights which included shipping medical supplies and flights to rescue Britons stranded abroad.
Before the coronavirus outbreak, the airline was expected to operate 75,501 flights.
And now the airline are warning that flights could be minimal in May and June due to ongoing government restrictions.
The airline said: “Due to multiple EU government flight bans and restrictions, Ryanair expects to carry minimal traffic during the months of May and June as well.”
The airline previously said that flights could remain grounded until “at least July”.
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It comes as the airline also announced last week that they will be cutting 3,000 jobs.
The low-cost Dublin airline is axing jobs across pilots and cabin crew in a move that could see people put on unpaid leave and salaries being slashed by up to 20 percent.
Aircraft bases across Europe are also expected to close.
Chief executive of Ryanair Michael O’Leary also took a 50 percent pay cut for April and May which he extended until March next year.
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He has described his latest cost-cutting decision as the “minimum to survive the next 12 months”.
He told the BBC: “If a vaccine isn’t found then clearly we may have to announce more cuts and deeper cuts into the future.”
He also previously said that he thinks passenger demand will to recover until summer 2022.
Other airlines that are struggling due to the coronavirus pandemic include British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.
British Airways recently announced that 12,000 workers will lose their jobs.
The airline has already furloughed more than 22,000 of its employees through the Government’s job retention scheme.
Founder of Virgin Atlantic Sir Richard Branson has also previously warned that the airline will collapse unless it receives support from the Government.
The airline hired investment bank Houlihan Lokey to try and find investors who could inject money into the airline to halt its collapse.
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