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Ryanair seeks to avoid Brexit turbulence

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Ryanair seeks to avoid Brexit turbulence Inbox x Ryanair seeks to avoid Brexit turbulence

Irish no-frills airline Ryanair said today it is scaling back plans to increase its presence in Britain due to Brexit, opting instead to build out bases in Belgium, Germany and Italy.

What had been planned as a 12 percent expansion in the U.K. through 2017 will now be rolled back to 5 percent, the airline said in its report on its half-year results.

Ryanair reported a 7 percent rise in year-on-year net profits to €1.2 billion for the six-month period April to September, despite the fall in the pound and uncertainty over Brexit. Revenues rose 2 percent to €4.1 billion.

But it said Brexit would continue to loom over its results into 2018, with a further weakening in the pound and slower economic growth in the U.K. forecast.

Around 26 percent of Ryanair’s revenue comes in pounds, which has fallen sharply against the euro since U.K.’s vote to leave the EU on June 23.

“We hope that the U.K. will remain a member of Europe’s open skies system, but until the final outcome of Brexit has been determined, we will continue to adapt to changing circumstances,” said Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s CEO, in a statement.

The company also said it plans to continue a lobbying campaign to get the European Commission to act on mitigating the effect on airlines of air traffic controller strikes.

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