Ryanair is preparing for an “Armageddon situation” in the middle of the fuel-cost crisis hitting the global airline industry.

That was the message from the low-cost carrier’s chief financial officer, Neil Sorahan, in an interview with CNBC.

Ryanair ready for an “Armageddon situation”. CFO warns of airline failures

“Have we put plans in place for some sort of Armageddon situation? Of course we have, although I don’t think it will materialize. Right now we’re operating a full schedule for this summer and we intend to be fully operational through the winter,” Sorahan said.

That said, Ryanair’s CFO issued a warning about what could happen to airlines that are struggling to absorb the fuel-price shock triggered by the US-Iran war:

“I think we’ll see some of the weaker carriers, the ones that were already struggling before the war, at risk of going under during the winter.”

Ryanair plays down summer cancellation risk

Through hedging operations, Ryanair has locked in 80% of its summer fuel at $668 per metric ton, citing the “economic uncertainty” caused by the Middle East conflict and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

Sorahan reiterated that the airline “is not planning cancellations” at present, even though the situation remains critical across the industry.

“We’re obviously in a very volatile oil market right now,” the CFO continued, though he sounded less than pessimistic about Ryanair’s flight schedule heading into summer. “If we go back two months ago, we had some concerns about oil supply, but we’re increasingly confident that there won’t be any oil-supply problems heading into the summer.”

The manager added that Ryanair is “not overly concerned” about fuel supply, while drawing a distinction in his warning about potential airline bankruptcies next winter.

Airline fares higher for longer, but Ryanair stronger thanks to fuel hedging

The reason for this relative calm despite the “Armageddon” risk?

According to Sorahan, Europe’s dependence on supply through the Strait of Hormuz is shrinking, with crude increasingly coming from economies like the United States, Venezuela and Brazil.

“That said, I think prices will stay higher for a longer period, and that puts Ryanair in a particularly strong position given our heavy fuel hedge,” the CFO noted.

Ryanair has just released its first-quarter 2026 results, showing after-tax profit growth of 40%, to nearly €2.3 billion (about $2.5 billion).

Passenger traffic rose 4% in the quarter, to 208.4 million.

Revenue, however, fell 11% to €15.54 billion (about $16.8 billion). Worth watching how Ryanair shares move in the wake of the quarterly release.

Editor’s note

This article was originally published in Italian on money.it by Laura Naka Antonelli on May 18, 2026 as «Ryanair pronta a scenario «Armageddon». Caro carburante e voli, cosa devono sapere i passeggeri». It has been translated and adapted for an international audience by the Money.it International desk.