Ryanair has announced it is closing two bases and cutting summer capacity in others as the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max continues to bite.
Ryanair Holdings has today announced that having received only 10 of the 20 planned aircraft, and which currently remain grounded, it will be closing its Nuremberg and Stockholm Skavsta bases for summer 2020.
It added capacity cuts will need to be made elsewhere too, and has revised its expected traffic numbers from 157 million for the year ending 31 March, 2021, to 156 million.
Ryanair DAC chief executive Eddie Wilson said: “We regret these two further base closures and minor capacity cuts at other bases which are solely due to further delivery delays to our Boeing 737 Max aircraft.
“We are continuing to work with Boeing, our people, our unions and our affected airports to minimise these capacity cuts and job losses.”
The entire global fleet of Boeing 737 Max series has been grounded since March after two 737 Max 8s crashed in the space of five months, killing all 346 people onboard the flights.
In a statement released in November, Boeing said it hoped that the aircraft would be allowed to return to the skies in early 2020.