Ryanair CEO warns of 10% hit to bookings from coronavirus

Ryanair expects a 10% fall in bookings in April and May due to concerns about coronavirus, dealing a "meaningful impact" to quarterly earnings, but the situation will stabilize by early summer, Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said on Tuesday.

"At the moment we're expecting a 10% decline in bookings through the months of April and maybe May. We could be down about 2 million passengers over that period," O'Leary told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of an annual industry conference.

"But that I think would be about the extent of it," he added. "Once you get into May-June, temperatures are rising, I think the hysteria about the spread of the COVID virus will have calmed down again."