Ryanair may be forced to cancel as many as 10% of its flights this summer, its chief executive has warned, should the Iran conflict continue to drive up jet fuel prices.
Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary spoke to ITV News on Thursday about the alarming situation. He said: “We’re all facing an unknown scenario. And we are certainly looking at maybe having to cancel 5%, 10% of flights through May, June and July.” Should any passengers have their flight cancelled, O’Leary said they should blame Trump rather than the airline.
Speaking to ITV News Economics Editor Joel Hills, O’Leary urged travellers to book their summer flights sooner rather than later to avoid escalating costs. He said: “This has been a poorly judged attack on Iran, there doesn’t seem to be any exit plan at all.”
In a separate interview with Sky News, the Ryanair chief added: “Fuel suppliers are constantly looking at the market. We don’t expect any disruption until early May, but if the war continues, we do run the risk of supply disruptions in Europe in May and June, and we hope the war will finish sooner than that and the risk to supply will be eliminated,” he told Sky News.
“We think there is a reasonable risk, some low level, maybe 10% to 25% of our supplies might be at risk through May and June, so like everyone else in this industry, we hope the war ends sooner rather than later.”
“If the war finishes by April and the Strait of Hormuz reopens, then there is almost no risk to supply.”
This follows news that UK airline Skybus, which operates daily flights between London Gatwick and Newquay, has been compelled to cancel all flights owing to the fuel crisis. Flights have been cancelled from Friday (April 3) due to the soaring cost of fuel and a decline in passenger numbers.
Skybus has been running daily flights between London Gatwick and the coastal town of Newquay since November 2025 under a Public Service Obligation funded by Cornwall Council and the Department for Transport, which had been scheduled to continue until May 31.
Skybus managing director Jonathan Hinkles said: “The huge rise in the global cost of fuel following the conflict in the Gulf, coupled with a significant drop in new passenger bookings since mid-February’s announcement of the planned closure of the PSO air route, forms an insurmountable barrier to the service continuing through April and May.”
“At a time of great economic uncertainty and steps being taken to conserve energy worldwide, it is neither environmentally nor economically sound for us to continue flying with vastly reduced passenger numbers.”
He expressed his gratitude to passengers, local stakeholders and the Skybus team for their continued support.