Ryanair cuts more Italian flights after aircraft delivery delay
Irish low-cost airline Ryanair announced it had been forced to cancel flights including on some Italian routes due to the late delivery of new aircraft from manufacturer Boeing.
Ryanair said in a statement on Thursday that it was making “a number of winter 2023 schedule reductions as a direct result of Boeing aircraft delivery delays.”
The airline said it had expected to receive 27 new planes from the manufacturer between September and December this year, but it now expects to receive 14 aircraft between October and December due to production delays.
Because of this, Ryanair said it would have to reduce the number of aircraft by five across its Italian bases, including at Bergamo, Naples and Pisa, as well as cutting the number at Charleroi by three and Dublin by two.
No further details were immediately available as to which routes would be affected.
READ ALSO: Italy investigates Ryanair’s ‘market dominance’ after flight price cap shelved
Michael O’Leary, group chief executive at Ryanair, said the cuts were “deeply regrettable”.
“These flight cancellations will take effect from the end of October, and will be communicated to all affected passengers by email over the coming days.
“Passengers will be offered re-accommodation on alternative flights or full refunds as they so wish. We apologise sincerely to passengers for any inconvenience caused by these delivery delays this winter.”
The airline said it was working with Boeing to try to accelerate deliveries from January 2024 so that it can begin the summer 2024 peak travel season with all 57 new Boeing aircraft as planned.
The announcement came after Ryanair earlier in September said it would cut the number of flights to the Italian islands of Sicily and Sardinia this winter as a result of the Italian government’s plan to bring in restrictions on fare prices.
The government has since backtracked on the proposal, but Ryanair has not confirmed whether its flight schedule will now be changed.
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Ryanair said in a statement on Thursday that it was making “a number of winter 2023 schedule reductions as a direct result of Boeing aircraft delivery delays.”
The airline said it had expected to receive 27 new planes from the manufacturer between September and December this year, but it now expects to receive 14 aircraft between October and December due to production delays.
Because of this, Ryanair said it would have to reduce the number of aircraft by five across its Italian bases, including at Bergamo, Naples and Pisa, as well as cutting the number at Charleroi by three and Dublin by two.
No further details were immediately available as to which routes would be affected.
READ ALSO: Italy investigates Ryanair’s ‘market dominance’ after flight price cap shelved
Michael O’Leary, group chief executive at Ryanair, said the cuts were “deeply regrettable”.
“These flight cancellations will take effect from the end of October, and will be communicated to all affected passengers by email over the coming days.
“Passengers will be offered re-accommodation on alternative flights or full refunds as they so wish. We apologise sincerely to passengers for any inconvenience caused by these delivery delays this winter.”
The airline said it was working with Boeing to try to accelerate deliveries from January 2024 so that it can begin the summer 2024 peak travel season with all 57 new Boeing aircraft as planned.
The announcement came after Ryanair earlier in September said it would cut the number of flights to the Italian islands of Sicily and Sardinia this winter as a result of the Italian government’s plan to bring in restrictions on fare prices.
The government has since backtracked on the proposal, but Ryanair has not confirmed whether its flight schedule will now be changed.
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