The boss of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary has insisted that his planes will NOT fly with empty middle seat in line with ‘idiotic’ in-flight social distancing rules unless government pays for missing fares.
He claimed proposals to force planes to fly under capacity when the coronavirus travel restrictions end were ‘mad,’ unaffordable and ‘hopelessly ineffective’.
The Airline instead wants temperature checks and masks for passengers and crew.
This is because Industry body estimates coronavirus pandemic could cost airlines £254billion
The Dublin-based low cost airline has instead backed the introduction of mandatory temperature checks and masks for passengers and crew when flights resume.
Mr O’Leary also said Ryanair has already told the Irish government that if it imposes the measures, then ‘either the government pays for the middle seat or we won’t fly’.
Ryanair is among a host of airlines raising concerns that measures to slow the spread of the pandemic could blight profitability long after the travel restrictions end.
The airline operates on a business model of frequent flights, low costs and a very high ‘load factor’, which is the industry word for a plane’s proportion of taken seats.
And Mr O’Leary, 59, told the Financial Times: ‘We can’t make money on 66 per cent load factors. Even if you do that, the middle seat doesn’t deliver any social distancing, so it’s kind of an idiotic idea that doesn’t achieve anything anyway.’
The International Air Transport Association, which represents 290 airlines, has estimated that the pandemic could cost carriers a combined total of £254billion.
Ryanair is among those facing a damaging financial year after flying 152million people last year – a 9 per cent rise on 2018 which made it Europe’s biggest airline.
However Mr O’Leary has estimated that normal passenger levels will have returned by summer next year, as long as a vaccine for Covid-19 can be developed.
He also hopes that Ryanair will pick up business from rivals that could collapse during the crisis, which has already claimed the likes of Flybe and Virgin Australia.
