Ryanair Cuts Flights to Morocco and Other Destinations Amid COVID-19 Uncertainty

While the Irish low-cost carrier had hoped to reach 70% of its flight capacity at the start of the school year, it has recorded a significant decline in bookings in recent days due to the persistent uncertainty about the recent Covid-19 case rates in certain EU countries, the company said in a statement. As a result, Ryanair has decided to reduce its flight capacity by 20% during the months of September and October, the same source said.

The low-cost carrier says it has opted for frequency reductions rather than route closures. These reductions will be "heavily concentrated" on countries such as France, Spain (affected by the British quarantine, like the Netherlands and Malta), Sweden, Ireland and to some extent Morocco due to the recent surge in Covid-19 cases recorded in these countries, it is explained. A surge that has also led the authorities to increase "travel restrictions".

A Ryanair spokesperson also explains that these capacity and frequency reductions "are necessary given the recent weakness in forward bookings due to Covid-19 restrictions in a number of EU countries". Faced with the increase in travel restrictions, "forward bookings, particularly for business travel in September and October, have been negatively impacted, and it is sensible to reduce frequencies to match our capacity to demand over the next 2 months," he adds.