Ryanair blasts 'state aid doping' as it prepares to cut up to 3,000 roles

The budget carrier said on Friday (1 May) while the cuts will mainly affect pilots and cabin crew, it would also extend to head office and back office teams.

Staff will be asked to take unpaid leave and pay cuts of up to 20%, while group chief executive Michael O’Leary will forego half of his pay for the remainder of the carrier’s financial year through to March 2021.

"Ryanair now expects the recovery of passenger demand and pricing, to 2019 levels, will take at least two years, until summer 2022 at the earliest," said the group in a trading update issued on Friday morning, setting out the next stage of its response to the coronavirus crisis.