Ryanair’s pilots and cabin crew are at risk of unpaid leave for the winter period without extended government aid, the airline’s CEO Michael O’Leary said on September 24, 2020.
The carrier expects to operate at 20-30% of normal capacity starting December, which would be insufficient to pay the airline’s staff.
“We want to keep our pilots and our cabin crew employed and paid, but we’re going to have to have huge Government assistance for that,” O’Leary said in an interview with Sky News.
On top of the furloughs, the company’s CEO mentioned that additional job losses are not out of the question.
In July 2020, the carrier revealed a £168 million ($214 million) loss in Q2 FY20 after its revenue and passengers dropped by 95% and 99%, respectively. As of September 24, 2020, O’Leary said that the airline is at 10% of its flight bookings for November and December compared to last year.