Ryanair's O'Leary sees surge in Easter bookings to Europe due to Middle East war

By Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk and Alan Charlish

WARSAW, March 3 (Reuters) - Ryanair RYA.I has seen a surge in Easter holiday bookings to European destinations as travelers avoid the Middle East due to the escalating regional conflict, the airline's CEO said on Tuesday, adding he didn't expect a big longer-term impact.

The war between the U.S., Israel and Iran disrupted flights worldwide, closed key Middle Eastern hubs and sent oil prices surging, with analysts warning of weeks of disruption.

"We've seen certainly there's a big collapse in bookings to the Middle East and a big surge in bookings on short haul airlines within Europe, particularly I think the focus is on the Easter holidays," Michael O'Leary told a news conference.

"But I don't think it has any fundamental change or impact on... longer term booking trends into May, June, July."

PRIORITY IS TO REPATRIATE CUSTOMERS FROM JORDAN

O'Leary said Ryanair's priority during the current disruption was to repatriate customers from Jordan, and that it didn't have much spare capacity to help with other repatriations.

Oil prices have surged due to the widening Middle East conflict, up roughly 30% so far this year, potentially driving up the cost of jet fuel and hurting airlines' profits.

However, O'Leary said this would not affect Ryanair as it was well hedged against rising oil prices.

"We're hedged for the next 12 months out to March 2027 at about $67 per barrel," he said "So it won't affect our costs and it won't affect our low fares."