Ryanair traffic falls to just 40,000 passengers in April

Ryanair, the budget airline which this week declared it would be axing 3000 jobs, said it flew just 40,000 passengers in the whole of April as lockdowns on travel hammered the market.

That compared with 13.5 million in the same month last year.

The company flew rescue and medical flights for various governrments during the month as scheduled flights were cancelled due to the coronavirus.

Its 600 flights compared with the budgeted 75,501 for the period - highlighting the woes the industry faces.

In the US and some European countries, the airline industry has received government bailouts but the UK government has declined, preferring to allow them to take up existing government loan schemes on offer to other sectors.

British Airways has announced it will be slashing its staff numbers by up to 12,000, reflecting what it believes will be years of reduced demand for air travel.

More than 120,000 people signed a petition to demand the UK government steps in to prevent the BA cuts, but the government is unlikely to want to interfere.

Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic, which was rebuffed in its approach for a £500 million state bailout, is seeking investors to help it through the crisis so it can go back to the Treasury with a more appealing request.