Ryanair to cancel 25% of flights to and from Italy

The cancellations come amid the spread of coronavirus around the world.

Ryanair has notified passengers that it was reducing its short haul flights to and from Italy, from across Europe, by up to 25% for a three week period from Tuesday, 17 March until Wednesday 8 April, in response to coronavirus. An e-mail was sent out to affected customers on Monday. In a statement issued to JOE on Monday, a spokesperson for Ryanair said that over the past week, Ryanair has seen a significant drop in bookings over the past number of weeks. There has also been a significant increase in the number of passenger no-shows on flights to, from and within Italy. Ryanair has said that it is working closely with relevant authorities and is following all guidelines provided by WHO and EASA to ensure the health and wellbeing of its customers. Ryanair CEO, Michael O’Leary said: "Our focus at this time is on minimising any risk to our people and our passengers. While we are heavily booked over the next two weeks, there has been a notable drop in forward bookings towards the end of March, into early April. It makes sense to selectively prune our schedule to and from those airports where travel has been most affected by the Covid-19 outbreak. "This is a time for calm. We will make sensible cuts to our schedules over the comings weeks to reflect weaker bookings, and changing travel patterns. All affected customers will be advised of any schedule changes at least 14 days in advance. While 80% of people who contract Covid-19 suffer only mild symptoms, the risk of infection can be significantly reduced by frequent hand washing with soap and water. "We will continue to comply fully with guidelines from National Governments, the WHO and EASA as they are updated on a regular basis. We will update the market in due course on any significant developments."