Ryanair PLC (LON:RYA) said bookings have picked up recently and it expects air travel to start to recover from the second half of this year.
“If, as is presently predicted, most European populations are vaccinated by Sept., then we believe that we can look forward to a strong recovery in air travel, jobs and tourism in H2 of the current fiscal year (FY22).
"The recent strong increases in weekly bookings since early April suggests that this recovery has already begun," the airline said alongside its annual results.
The Irish carrier posted a loss of €1.1bn (2020: €670mln profit) in the year to end-March 2021 as revenues over the year fell 81% to €1.64bn (€8.5bn) due to the impact of Coronavirus.
Going forward, Ryanair said this current quarter will be 'very curtailed' but from then on expects to benefit from a strong rebound of pent up travel demand through the second half of 2021 and to return to pre-COVID levels of growth in the summer of 2022.
Passenger traffic numbers in the year to March 2022 are still likely to be at the bottom end of its 80-120mln forecasts with the financial outcome only recovering to break even, it said, and to achieve this will require an easing of travel restrictions within Europe over the peak holiday period of July to September.
The airline added it remained committed to Boeing’s troubled 737MAX aircraft, which it said would be a gamechanger for the airline with 4% more seats and lower fuel costs. Ryanair has 210 MAX’s on order.
Ryanair added it had €3.15bn of cash and liquidity at the end of March, which it said gives it one of the strongest balance sheets in the industry.