Ryanair is axing its winter capacity by 2 million seats in a bid to limit its exposure to high unhedged fuel prices.
The low-cost carrier anticipates the one-off overall traffic cut from 216m to 214m will reduce its winter 2026 losses by €70m to €100m.
A Ryanair statement said: “In light of high unhedged oil prices it is sensible to strategically reduce the group’s exposure to unhedged jet fuel during the unprofitable winter schedule from November to March. We expect traffic from November to March will be broadly flat year on year.”
Ryanair also warned short-haul airfares in Europe could rise ‘materially’ if high oil prices persist into summer 2027. It said some less well-hedged competitors cold struggle to maintain capacity or even survive this coming winter season.
However, the airline said it remains on track to grow its traffic from April to October by 5% year-on-year to 145m passengers, with fares trending ‘modestly down’ in July.
Ryanair said it is ‘well placed’ to report another profitable year with 80% of its jet fuel hedged, though net profit is projected to fall below last year’s record level.
