Ryanair has reported a loss of €96m for the final three months of 2021.
Its passenger numbers jumped 286pc year-on-year to 31.1 million for the three month period, according to an update from the airline.
Neil Sorahan, chief financial officer said that Omicron’s emergence hit “close in bookings” costing Ryanair a potential 1.5 million to two million passengers.
“These were people who would typically book two weeks before Christmas and the New year. They did not materialise, they tend to be the higher-yielding passengers.”
The result was in line with a consensus estimate of a €101m loss in a company poll of analysts.
December traffic slowed to 9.5 million as the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 impacted travel.
The airline is hopeful that bookings will increase ahead of the spring-summer season.
