Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary is worried about the new lockdown in Austria, because he fears that this would again have a negative impact on demand. He also criticizes the fact that the media are putting increasing pressure on politics in the matter of Corona.
At an online Eurocontrol conference, the manager said that the recovery in European aviation would have been “disrupted” with the lockdown in Austria and the partial lockdown in the Netherlands. In Germany in particular, he sees potential customers getting nervous. This spills over to all of Europe: "Europe is getting very nervous".
The Christmas season is generally considered to be particularly travel-intensive. Michael O'Leary is concerned that this year this could be particularly complicated or even fall through, because he fears that new travel restrictions could be issued very soon. Obviously, many potential vacationers and airline customers are also concerned about this, because in the last few days the number of bookings in many markets, especially in Austria, has dropped with almost all providers.
Michael O'Leary also believes that governments are being pressured by media reports and panicking. He appeals that everyone should keep a cool head and proceed carefully and goal-oriented. O'Leary also said that Covid vaccinations would make travel safe. The Ryanair boss is unsurprisingly speaking out against new tough travel restrictions.