Michael O’Leary, chief executive, said that the strong third quarter reinforced the robust nature of Ryanair’s low fare, pan-European growth model, even during the turbulence that led to the cancellation of 20,000 flights Niall Carson/PARyanair, Europe’s busiest airline, said that it was on track for record annual profits despite its flight cancellation fiasco. The budget airline’s shares rose by almost 7 per cent today to close at €16.91 - its best one-day performance in a year. It came as Ryanair unveiled profits of €1.29 billion (£1.13 billion) in the six months to the end of September — up by 11 per cent — and forecast a full-year return of up to €1.45 billion (£1.28 billion). The announcement was made in the wake of major criticism over its handling of a pilot shortage in the autumn which forced it to cancel 20,000 flights, disrupting the travel plans of more than 700,000 passengers. Michael Hickey, the airline’s chief operating officer, resigned.

Source: The Times October 31, 2017 12:11 UTC