Ryanair CEO: Hard Brexit Could Ground UK Flights For Three Weeks

By Dave Simpson
Ryanair CEO: Hard Brexit Could Ground UK Flights For Three Weeks

A hard Brexit could ground UK flights for up to three weeks, but would be survivable for Ryanair, according to the airline's CEO, Michael O'Leary.

"You can ground aircraft for a week, two weeks, three weeks. It would be very painful," O'Leary told Reuters. "But we are a big company, we can survive."

O'Leary had warned last month that there were no assurances that an agreement would be in place enabling flights to continue after Britain exits the European Union next March.

Flat Traffic

O'Leary said he did not expect Ryanair to grow in Germany next year, after closing its bases in the northern city of Bremen and at Weeze near Duesseldorf.

"Our traffic will be flat," O'Leary said.

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O'Leary reiterated that he was confident that Ryanair could resolve its dispute with German unions representing pilots and cabin crew. He said talks were making progress and that he did not expect further labour strikes in the coming weeks.

News by Reuters, edited by Hospitality Ireland. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.