Ryanair has reported a 34% fall in first-quarter profits because of higher fuel costs and lower fares, despite carrying more passengers.
The low-cost airline reported profit after tax of €538 million (£457m) for the three months to 30 June 2026, down from €820m during the same period last year. Passenger numbers rose 6% to 61.3m, but average fares fell by 6%.
Ryanair said higher oil prices, linked to the conflict in the Middle East, significantly increased the cost of 20% of its fuel that was not hedged. Unhedged jet fuel prices more than doubled during the quarter, contributing to an 11% increase in operating costs.
CEO Michael O’Leary said demand had been affected by consumer uncertainty, concerns about fuel supply and later booking patterns.
“Q1 fares (which benefitted from a full Easter during April 2025) required stimulation as the Middle East conflict led to consumer hesitancy, concerns about EU jet-fuel shortages, economic uncertainty and later bookings,” he said.
Despite the profit decline, revenues increased by 1% to €4.38 billion, due to higher passenger volumes and ancillary sales, which grew in line with traffic.
The airline said it remains financially strong, after repaying its final €1.2bn bond in May and is now debt free. It reported gross cash of more than €2.8bn at the end of June.
The airline intends to maintain its full-year traffic target of 216m passengers, representing growth of around 4%, supported by new routes and fleet expansion. However, it declined to provide full-year profit guidance, citing uncertainty over fuel prices, geopolitical tensions and late summer booking trends.
It recently opened new bases in Rabat, Tirana and Trapani and has launched 130 new routes for summer 2026.
Ryanair said seat prices have improved slightly in recent weeks but said visibility remains limited, with booking windows continuing to be shorter than last year.
Meanwhile, Ryanair has identified 15 European airports where passengers are experiencing ‘significant delays due to slow processing times and excessive passport control queues on both arrivals and departures’ as a result of the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES).
The ‘recurring EES hotspots’ are: Lisbon, Tenerife South, Madrid, Lanzarote, Alicante, Malaga, Milan Bergamo, Milan Malpensa, Verona, Paris Beauvais, Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt Hahn, Krakow and Budapest.
