Analysis: Why Michael O’Leary and Ryanair see an opportunity during the Covid-19 crisis

A robust balance sheet, a lower cost base and the prospect of greater numbers flying soon due to vaccination mean the airline is well placed to become a bigger player in the years to come

Once a significant portion of the public across Europe is vaccinated, including many of the high-risk groups, Ryanair and their competitors will ratchet up the pressure on governments to relax travel restrictions. Picture: Rollingnews.ie

Michael O’Leary spared Boris Johnson little opprobrium when assessing the British Prime Minister’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic last autumn.

"I wouldn't waste my time talking to anyone in the UK government at the moment given their abysmal record at mismanaging Covid,” he said in September.

The brash Ryanair chief executive went on to add that Johnson himself had been “running around shaking hands with everyone” at the beginning of the crisis and had “consistently ...