The Ryanair Group plans to grow strongly by March 2026 and transport 225 million passengers annually. In fiscal 2020, which ended at the end of March 2020, there were 149 million travelers. This was largely unaffected by the corona pandemic.

During the general meeting of shareholders, management stated that it had increased the target by approximately 25 million passengers a year. One of the means to achieve this is to use the 210 Boeing 737 Max 200s, which are awaiting delivery.

CEO Michael O'Leary also said that they want to fill the gaps that other airlines are leaving. He did not name any specific routes, but made a swipe at competitors who have reduced their fleets and staff in the wake of the corona crisis. If Ryanair has its way, around 5.000 new employees will be hired in the next few years.

But even Michael O'Leary had to admit that the ambitious goals are subject to the further development of the corona pandemic. Should this become even more severe and demand collapse as a result, it will likely become more difficult to achieve. It is currently not foreseeable whether the governments will resort to tough entry and quarantine regulations again. The Ryanair management assumes that the stated goals can be achieved with a vaccination rate of around 90 percent. Austria and Germany, for example, are still a long way from achieving this.