Irish budget airline Ryanair announced today that due to the coronavirus it will reduce short-term flight schedules (by 25%) from March 17 to April 8.

The airline notes that due to the situation caused by the spread of coronavirus, there has been a noticeable decline in flight bookings for late March to early April. In addition, a large proportion of the passengers with tickets were not boarding flights. This is especially the case for domestic flights within Italy and from Italy.

However, the airline notes that cancellations will not have a significant impact on forecasts for the current financial year (ending March), but at the same time it is too early to predict what impact the coronavirus will have on company profits in the next financial year.

Ryanair says it will continue to study bookings and adjust its flight schedule accordingly. The carrier says it is working with the World Health Organization and EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) to ensure the safety of its staff and passengers.

Ryanair now flies to Yerevan from Rome and Milan. Flights are operated every Tuesday and Saturday.

As noted, flight cuts are for short hauls.

Eurocontrol (European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation) deems short-haul flights to be those up to 1500 km Medium-haul flights range from 1,500 to 4,000 km, and long-haul flights are more than 4000 km.

 Given that the flight distance from Yerevan to Rome is about 2,700 km, and from Milan to Yerevan is 2,900 km, Ryanair flights to Yerevan are mid-range and shouldn’t be affected.