Ryanair has this week revealed it’s passenger numbers for March, in which they revealed that 950 flights had been cancelled due to the Israel/Gaza conflict.
Despite this, numbers remain strong at the airline, with even load factors rising as they gear up for a busy Summer 2024.
Without further ado, let’s get into it…
How The Israel/Gaza Conflict is Affecting Ryanair…
Ryanair has been battling with Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport in Israel to reopen Terminal 1.
Terminal 1 has been closed due to the ongoing conflict with Gaza, which did force terminals to close as airlines pulled out.
Commercial operations restarted on February 1, with Ryanair initially restarting flights to the country.
However, they later pulled out of Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport in Israel due to the higher airport fees.
The Irish low-cost carrier requested previously with Tel Aviv Ben Gurion to honour the prices agreed with Terminal 1.
However, this has appeared to not have come to fruition, with the Irish low-cost carrier now applying pressure.
Furthermore, as a result of no agreement being made, Ryanair ceased operations from the airport on February 27.
Numbers Are Still Strong Nevertheless…
Despite the cancellation of 950 flights due to the Israel/Gaza conflict, Ryanair has been performing strong network-wide.
In March, they handled 13.6m passengers, which is eight per cent higher than the same period last year.
Load factors remained unchanged at 93% for March.
However, for the rolling 12 month period, load factors rose by 1% to 94%, with annual traffic standing at 183.7m passengers.
Of course, if Tel Aviv, Israel, reopened Ben Gurion Terminal 1, then there could be more scope for additional growth.
At the moment, it seems that as long as the Gaza conflict goes on, Terminal 1 will remain closed unless stated otherwise.
Overall…
In conclusion, Ryanair’s numbers still remain strong despite the 950 flights cancelled due to the Israel/Gaza conflict.
Looking ahead, all eyes will be on whether there is a change of tact in Tel Aviv to reopen Terminal 1.
Once that terminal reopens, then the Irish low-cost carrier will be able to provide low-fare travel out of the region once again.
But for now, all eyes will be on what happens over the next 6-12 months.
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