Ryanair Boss Decries ‘State Aid Doping’ as Airline Sheds 3,000 Jobs

Ryanair plans to cut 3,000 jobs and talk to Boeing about delaying plane deliveries as it does not expect European air traffic to recover fully from the CCP virus crisis until 2022.

Ryanair aircrafts are parked on the tarmac before the closure of Brussels South Charleroi Airport as airlines have suspended flights to slow down the spread of the CCP virus (COVID-19), Charleroi, Belgium on March 24, 2020. Francois Lenoir/Reuters

DUBLIN—Ryanair is laying off 15 percent of its staff in a cost-cutting drive as CCP virus restrictions prevent a return to normal service until 2021 and rivals receive billions in state aid to get back in the air, its chief executive said on Friday.

The boss of Europe’s biggest budget airline nevertheless vowed in an interview with Reuters that Ryanair would emerge stronger from the crisis and said crunch talks with Boeing about the price of jets already ordered and a potential new order would be key.