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RYANAIR REPORTS Q3 LOSS OF € 306M AS TRAFFIC FALLS 78 % Ryanair Holdings plc today ( 1 Feb. ) reported a Q3 loss of € 306m , compared to a PY Q3 profit of € 88m . Features of this 3 - month period to 31 Dec. included : ● ● ● Q3 traffic fell from 36m to 8m ( -78 % ) . € 3.5bn cash at quarter end ( 31 Dec. ) . Cost reduction & liquidity management continues at all Group airlines . Stansted low - cost growth deal extended by 4 years to 2028 - easyJet based slots secured . CDP awards Ryanair a strong ( first time ) B- climate protection score . Ryanair restricts non - EU shareholder voting rights post Brexit . Firm Order for 75x B737-8200 aircraft ( pipeline of 210 firm aircraft ) . Q3 ( IFRS ) - Group Customers Load Factor Revenue 31 Dec. 2019 35.9m 96 % € 1.91bn € 1.81bn € 88m Op . Costs PAT / ( Net Loss ) * excl . € 15m except . hedge ineffectiveness charge . 31 Dec. 2020 8.1m 70 % € 0.34bn € 0.67bn ( € 306m ) * Change -78 % -26pts -82 % -63 % n / m COVID - 19 : Covid - 19 continues to wreak havoc across the industry . Christmas & New Year traffic was severely impacted by UK travel bans imposed at short notice by many EU Govts on 19 & 20 Dec. These flight bans , and travel restrictions , saw the Group's Dec. traffic fall by 83 % to just 1.9m passengers . As announced on 7 Jan. , Ryanair expects the latest lockdowns and pre - arrival Covid test requirement to materially reduce flight schedules and traffic through to Easter . The Group's full - year ( FY21 ) traffic forecast was therefore reduced to " between 26m to 30m " passengers . The Covid pandemic has caused the closure of EU airlines including Flybe , Germanwings , Level and Montenegro Airlines . Norwegian has already entered a creditor protection examinership and Eurocontrol predicts more EU airline failures in 2021. Significant capacity reductions have been implemented by many EU airlines and a flood of unlawful State Aid has been committed by EU Govts to their flag carriers including Alitalia , Air France / KLM , LOT , Lufthansa , SAS , TAP and others . This illegal State Aid distorts competition and the level playing field across EU aviation . We expect intra - European capacity to be significantly reduced for the next few years , which will create growth opportunities for Ryanair ( Europe's lowest cost airline ) to take advantage of recovery growth incentives , as it takes delivery of 210 new ( lower cost ) Boeing 737s . As soon as the Covid - 19 virus recedes - and it will over the coming months as EU Govts accelerate vaccine rollouts - Ryanair and its partner airports will rapidly restore schedules , recover lost traffic , help the nations of Europe to reboot their tourism industry , and create jobs for young people across the cities and beaches of the EU . We take some comfort from the success of the UK vaccine programme which is on target to vaccinate almost 50 % of the UK population ( 30m ) by the end of March . The EU now needs to step up the slow pace of its rollout programme to match the UK's performance . Q3 BUSINESS REVIEW : Revenue & Costs Q3 revenue fell by 82 % to € 0.34bn as traffic shrank by 78 % to 8.1m . Ancillary revenue delivered a solid performance as more guests chose priority boarding and reserved seating . Q3 cost performance was strong , falling 63 % thanks to the measures implemented over the past nine months . Due to ongoing travel restrictions , reduced Q4 traffic and a revised aircraft delivery schedule , the Group recorded a € 15m exceptional ineffectiveness charge on fuel and currency hedges in Q3 . The Group airlines continue to implement cost reductions . In Dec. , Ryanair increased its firm order for the B737-8200 " Gamechanger " aircraft by 75 to 210 aircraft . These environmentally friendly aircraft have 4 % more seats , but burn 16 % less fuel and lower noise emissions by 40 % . This winter , Group airlines are returning 14 older B737 aircraft to lessors as leases mature and Ryanair has recently concluded the delivery of 7 older B737NGS ( pre - sold in 2019 ) for cargo conversion . Our Route Development teams are working with multiple