Ryanair flights could be grounded for three months as staff wages cut by 50%
RYANAIR flights could be grounded for three months as a "best case scenario" as CEO Michael O'Leary confirms 50 per cent pay cuts for all staff.
The airline has already been forced to ground 80 per cent of their aircraft due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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All Ryanair flights are to be grounded from March 24. The airline hasn't said when it expects its schedule to return to normal.
However, the CEO of the low-cost airline told the : "We’re talking about a close down that will last for at least three months."
He explained that the three-month lockdown comes after looking at the way China has handled the coronavirus outbreak, with cases now decreasing in number every day.
Mr O'Leary added that this was only after "draconian measures" and that most of the industry had no idea about how it would play out in the UK.
Ryanair crew are also taking a 50 per cent pay cut as flights and airports face complete shutdown.
The pay cuts would be for April and May, in a bid to avoid "avoid mass lay-offs"; although these could still happen further down the line.
FLIGHTS GROUNDED Ryanair to ground all flights from next week – can you get a refund?
Desperate airlines are calling for government help as they are forced to massively cut their flight routes.
However, O'Leary warned government aid could put "well-run airlines at the mercy of nationalised airlines at the end of this process".
British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are reducing capacity by 75 per cent in April and May and easyJet is now running only rescue and repatriation flights in order to fly customers home.
Tour operator TUI has suspended all holidays including package holidays and cruises. And P&O and Cunard have also cancelled all cruises worldwide until April 11.
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Travel has decreased sharply as more and more countries apply tough new restrictions to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Italy, Spain and France are all on lockdown in an effort to curb the alarming rise in new coronavirus cases and deaths.
At the weekend, Jet2 ordered planes heading for Spain to perform a dramatic U-turn and announced that it would no longer fly to Lyon, Grenoble, Paris and Nice until at least April 26.