IrelandAirport fees cut Ryanair growth

Ryanair expected passenger growth to slow in the next financial year as it cut back on short-distance flights in some markets due to higher airport fees, its chief executive said yesterday. “I think the growth will be slower,” Michael O’Leary said, predicting passenger numbers would rise by between 3 percent and 4 percent to up to 82.5 million in the year to March 2014. That compares with likely growth of 4.2 percent in the current year to March. “The summer this year will be mostly flat, most of the growth will happen in the winter of 2013/14,” O’Leary said. – Reuters