Ryanair sees break-even earnings amid slow COVID-19 recovery

LONDON (AP) — Ryanair says earnings for the current fiscal year are likely to be “close to breakeven” as continued travel restrictions delay its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The pessimistic outlook came as Europe’s biggest discount airline said Wednesday that the airline industry is facing a delayed recovery going into the peak summer season because of the slow rollout of coronavirus vaccines in the European Union.  Ryanair’s passenger traffic fell 81.5% to 27.5 million passengers in the fiscal year ended March 31 as lockdown orders and travel restrictions forced people to stay home. The airline said it expects traffic for the current year to be near the lower end of its previously forecast range of 80 million to 120 million passengers.