O’Leary: ‘We need to use second lockdown to massively scale up testing’

Saturday, 02 Nov, 2020 0

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has urged the government to use the second lockdown to ‘massively speed up testing’ as the airline posted massive half-year losses.

Ryanair reported a loss of €197 million (£178 million) in the six months to the end of September, compared to a half-year profit of €1.15bn the previous year.

And it warned: "The Group expects to record higher losses in H2 than in H1."

Ryanair criticised EU national governments for continuing to ‘mismanage’ air travel as England prepares to impose a second coronavirus lockdown.

It added the next year will continue to be ‘hugely challenging’ and it may have to revise down its full-year forecast of carrying 38 million passengers.

Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme, O’Leary said: "National lockdown hasn’t defeated Covid. It’s a cover up for political mismanagement.

"We need much more effective tracing. Air travel, particularly shorthaul and within the EU, can continue and has done so.

"We need to use this second lockdown to massively scale up testing."

By Lisa James, Deputy Editor (UK)

Lisa

Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.

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