Ryanair is planning to shed up to 3,000 jobs because of the “unprecedented” coronavirus crisis.
The budget airline also hit out at the state bailout of competitors, including Lufthansa and Air France, which chief executive Michael O’Leary has criticised as “financial doping” and “manifestly unfair”.
The jobs to go will be mainly pilot and cabin crew jobs, while the remaining staff face unpaid leave and having their pay slashed by up to 20%.
The group is also to close of “a number of aircraft bases across Europe” until demand for air travel recovers.
Mr O’Leary, whose pay was cut by 50% for April and May, has agreed to extend the reduction for the remainder of the financial year to March 2021.
The airline said its flights will remain grounded until “at least July” and passenger numbers will not return to 2019 levels “until summer 2022 at the earliest”.
For the 12 months to the end of March 2021, its forecast is that it will carry fewer than 100 million passengers. Its target for the period was 154 million.